Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian
by smithjohn2020
Summary: Swordsman and Kung Fu Master, Naruto harnesses natural energy in its RAW form, Qi. New destiny to embrace. Will he fall under the devising of his enemies and crumble in face of tragedy? Naru X Ten, Naru X Hina. Formerly So9L
1. Theft

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 1: Theft**

Introducing WuXia influence into Naruto fanfiction. WuXia is a martial arts genre in Chinese literature. As far as I know, no one has ever attempted this before on ffnet. But if I'm wrong, then just know that there should be more Naruto fanfics with WuXia influence. More on WuXia in Chapter 2: A/N.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto and Narutoverse were created by Kishimoto. All original plot and characters are mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

High in the mountains far away from Konoha sat a small Buddhist monastery above the clouds. A group of ninjas stood in front of the closed doors with a sign above it that read, "Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts."

"Well, looks like we've found the place," one of them said, turning his head to the apparent leader of the group, awaiting for his signal.

"Um, it appears so," another subordinate commented, his hand twirling a kunai, "I don't see how monks are going to give us Uchiha elites any problems." He grasped firmly on the kunai he was toying with and said, "I think a team should do it. Two tops. But, sending three teams is a little overkill, no?"

"I agree," a third added. "We're just stealing some manuscripts after all. There's probably just one or two posted as guards. It's not like our mission was to level the place."

"True," the leader finally responded, "If we sneak in, we'll probably have to deal with only a few of them. But we don't know their skill level, and if Fugaku was told to send three teams, it would be foolish of us to underestimate them, even if it's just one or two that we'd have to face."

"Okay, enough talking," a new voice said, "give us your signal."

…o.0.O.0.o…

"Mikoto," a voice called out behind the closed doors of the family dojo.

"Yes, Fugaku," a woman in her mid thirties answered her husband as she opened the door showing her cheery serene face.

The feint light from the candles flickered slightly from her movement, highlighting the hardened facial features of a man few years older than his wife.

"I have to leave for a few days," began Fukagu as he rose from his sitting position, "Please you watch over Sasuke for me."

Mikoto smiled and said, "I will watch over Sasuke _and _Itachi in your absence."

At the mentioning of the older son's name, Fugaku thinned his lips and said, "If you want. He's no longer interested in what's best for the clan. He's a Hokage loyalist now."

Mikoto formed a puzzled face and asked, "Isn't what's best for Konoha what's best for the clan?"

Fugaku didn't answer as he walked past her, exiting the dojo toward his destination.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In an undisclosed place outside of the walls of Konoha gathered four men in the shadows.

"Shichu, what happened to Uhoma and Kotanu's team?" asked Fugaku.

Pointing to his comrades on the left and right, a heavily bandaged leader replied, "We're all that's left."

"What?!" Fugaku exclaimed. "Your three teams were the Uchiha's best. Were they forewarned of your activities?"

Shaking his head, Shichu sighed, "No, we sneaked in at night without being detected, but the monk guarding them was very powerful."

"A monk?" Fugaku mouthed his disbelief to himself. "Stronger than a shinobi?" He directed his attention to the bandaged man and asked, "So, did you get them?"

Shichu reached into his carry bag and pulled out two booklets covered in ancient writings.

In the distant shadows, a young ANBU captain saw the whole exchange.

_'Should I report this to the Hokage?' _thought the young ANBU to himself. _'There isn't enough time.'_

He saw Fugaku concealed the manuscripts in a cloth wrapping and headed back toward Konoha.

The ANBU captain followed Fugaku to the Uchiha clan library where the two manuscripts were kept and guarded.

_'Whatever they are, they must be important for Fugaku to station two elites from the Police Force there.' _The ANBU hiding in the nearby bushes thought to himself. _'I wonder if they have anything to do with the coup to overthrow the Sandaime.'_

He formed a kage bunshin to lead the guards away and slipped into the building.

The Uchiha clan library, perhaps the most comprehensive library anywhere in the Elemental Nations, contained countless priced jutsus, many too powerful and too dangerous to perform by ordinary ninjas, and most copied from enemies they'd fought against.

The ANBU was surprisingly familiar with the library, so finding the two new additions wasn't difficult. He found them hidden behind two complex genjutsus, which would have fooled most ninjas except those with the Sharingan. The ANBU happened to have his activated.

"Itachi, please hand them over to me," a voice called out behind the ANBU captain.

He smiled sadly behid his weasel mask and said, "Shisui, I'm sorry."

Before Shisui registered what was happening, the "Itachi" before him poofed up in smokes and he felt the cold numbness of steel entering his skull, ending his life.

Uchiha Shisui was rumored the most skilled of the Uchiha clan, and as his friend and training partner, Itachi could vow for that. Unfortunately for Shisui, Itachi chose to remain loyal to the Hokage.

Itachi closed his eyes and took off his mask, revealing tear drops of blood running down his normally emotionless face. When he opened his eyes again, his irises reflected the pattern of the legendary Mangekyou.

…o.0.O.0.o…

A lone dejected figure jumped onto the roof of a building overlooking the streets of Konoha. In this windy night, he could make out the familiar smells of the unique blend of pine and cedar wood permeating from the nearby forest into the hidden village he helped to found. The strong wind blew his black cloak patterned with red clouds into hugging his unnaturally young body.

This village held so many memories he wanted to forget. He whispered to no one, "We are all pawns in the game of life. Some sacrifices are necessary to achieve the greater good."

Through his one-holed orange mask, he observed the events played out below.

"Heh heh. You can't run from us! Just give up and let us give you the beating you deserve, demon brat," snickered the running mob.

'_Faster! Gotta run faster!' _chanted Naruto mentally, panic clearly reflected on his face._ 'Why me? Am I a demon?'_ wondered the eight year old boy.

"D-on't hurt me! I prom-ise to be good!" pleaded the beaten boy in between breaths, running as fast as his little legs would carry him.

_'Perhaps I pulled one prank too many, or pulled it on the wrong person,'_ mused Naruto. _'I swear to never pull a prank again for as long as I live if someone make their chase stop right now.'_

They ignored his pleadings and continued their chase and beatings.

"Hurry, he's turning out of the alley! We don't want the ANBU to catch us. Especially knowing how the Third is protective of him."

With each step Naruto took, the pain from the beating he had already received from them coursed through his small body. Suddenly one of his pursuers landed a stone on Naruto's already bruised right leg calf. The resulting burst of pain caused the running boy to tumble to his knees.

…o.0.O.0.o…

With a slightly raised head, Kyuubi looked through the windows that were Naruto's eyes. Anger and righteous fury erupted from her already untamed constitution. Her brows burrowed and her lips parted maliciously tightened as a snarl escaped her gargantuan mouth.

"Heh. This same song and dance is getting annoying. I wonder if anything new will happen tonight."

The official announcement to the world was that the Yondaime Hokage had killed the Nine Tails demon fox, but that was only a publicity ploy to boost Konoha's strength to the hidden villages in the Elemental Nations. As a demon, Kyuubi could not be killed. Instead, it was sealed or imprisoned in a newborn, one Uzumaki Naruto.

Upon the Fourth's death, his retired predecessor the Sandaime Hokage resumed the helm of village leadership and made it an offense punishable by death if any were to reveal the truth to the children. This law was legislated through the village Council, whose members consisted of the leaders of the twelve prominent clans and the Sandaime's old teammates.

"Hn! Puny humans and their primitive brains. How can Sarutobi actually be naïve enough to believe his law was enough to suppress people's stupidity and bigotry?"

Sandaime had his heart in the right place, but his precautionary measure did not result in a normal childhood for Naruto.

Instead of a normal childhood, the village pariah was shunned by his peers and villagers alike. Those old enough to know the truth and especially those who had lost loved ones the night Kyuubi attacked treated Naruto the worst. They had formed a secret club that met annually a week before the anniversary of that night to plan for their annual demon hunt fest.

Alcohol-induced incidents like tonight showered in between those anniversary hunts.

Kyuubi had enough when she seen one crippled ninja pulled out a kunai and heard him declared to his cohorts that his revenge was complete. She decided to make things interesting. She decided to interfere.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto was scared, but he put on a brave face and closed his eyes expecting to meet the Shinigami. As the memories of his short life flashed before the bijuu's windows, Kyuubi felt no hatred from him.

Only sadness and loneliness.

The Nine Tails could not help but be impressed by her charge's inner strength of character. He reminded her so much of strength of character of the man who sealed her off, the Yondaime.

Even if she was not moved to save him, she would have to for her own survival's sake.

Through all these years imprisoned by Yondaime's seal, Kyuubi had many trials-and-errors to perfect a way to exert her influence over Naruto. She had learned that when her jailor lost control of his emotions or was extremely weak physically, the seal would allow her a proportional degree of influence over his body. This seemed to be a way to allow Kyuubi to protect the boy's life under extreme circumstances.

"Pathetic! How can _you_ be _my_ vessel?"

At this critical junction, however, she did not need to talk to the brat. She just wanted to save him ... and herself. She needed to pour out her vast chakra to heal the boy and take over his body temporarily so she could revenge his assailant.

So far, in their eight years of coexistence, she had not succeeded in all her attempts to assert her influence, but tonight would have to be different. Failure would not be acceptable.

Before Kyuubi had a chance to intervene, an ANBU with a weasel mask shunshinned in front of Naruto, grabbed the incoming kunai, and forced it back into the heart of the attacker. Upon seeing their ring leader killed, the rest of thugs ran away as fast as they could, overlooking their shoulders as they fled.

Normally Naruto's personal guard would never let anyone who threatened the unsung hero escape. Tonight there was another priority since his safety was no longer a concern.

"Naruto-kun!"

The boy nervously opened his eyes and immediately calmed down upon seeing the familiar weasel mask.

"Weasel-san! Am I glad to see you!" shouted Naruto. As the boy moved in to hug his savior like he had always done, the thirteen-year-old masked ANBU stared at the cerulean blue eyes with his red tomoe pairs.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In Naruto's mindscape, the ANBU found himself without his mask trotting through the sewer-like hallway heading toward a dim red glow.

Suddenly a wave of killer intent floored him to his knees. Water slowly rising, threatened Weasel's suffocation. He poured more chakra into his eyes.

"Mangekyou Sharingan!" he shouted.

The scenery began to change. Before him stood a tall cage with a containment seal tag. Behind those bars stood the most feared of all bijuu, Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"What do you want Uchiha? What did you do to my vessel? You better choose your words wisely. If I detect any tinge of falsehood, I'll maim you," threatened the Nine Tails.

Trying his best to hide his fears, he deliberately put on a face of indifference and retorted, "Don't be alarmed. Name is Itachi. I mean you and your charge no harm."

"So an Uchiha prodigy, huh? This young and able to use your Sharingan to this level. I wonder how powerful you'll become," mocked the Kitsune. "What made you think that I won't just kill you now and rid me of another Uchiha?"

"Because I am the ANBU that was personally assigned by the Sandaime to watch over your charge. I know you can see through Naruto-kun's eyes and have seen me saving him many times. Inadvertently, I'm also responsible for your continued existence in this world," answered Itachi with the same expressionless face.

Suddenly Itachi felt a spike in killer intent from Kyuubi. Prior to this, it was already unbearable to stand, and now he found it difficult to breath. Thinking quickly, he blinked his eyes and added, "My words meant no disrespect. I just want you to know I am on the same team as you and Naruto-kun. Please allow me to continue."

Kyuubi, flashing her ferial teeth, repeated her warning, "Again human, remember to choose your words wisely. Better make sure the words you choose are ones that won't be taken as meaning something else, or there will be hell to pay."

"I know you don't trust me because of what Uchiha Madara did to you," said Itachi with a little more word restraint. Tact was never his forte, or any Uchiha's for that matter. With them, as long as the statement was true, little else mattered concerning its delivery. "As the Third's most trusted ANBU, he charged me to be Naruto-kun's personal guard. He also told me about Naruto-kun's parents."

"You're lying," referred the Kyuubi to his latter statement, her scrunched eyebrows showing her displeasure.

Itachi knew that Kyuubi had an inkling as to who Naruto's father was, but she needed confirmaion.

To establish this trust, Itachi began to relate the secret that few knew about, "The Sandaime took a precautionary measure to hide the identity of Naruto-kun's parents from everyone who didn't already know, including the Council and the boy himself. This request was from the boy's father, the Yondaime, the one who sealed you in him.

"What you may not know is that Namikaze Minato had many enemies. One of the more motivated revenge-seekers was the nation of Iwa. In the last great ninja war, the Yondaime single-handedly wiped out an entire Iwa ninja invasion force and turned the war around to Konoha's favor. As a result of his victory over Iwa, he helped to free prisoners from a decimated whirlpool village and allowed them amnesty in Konoha. Uzumaki Kushina, one of the freed captives, ended up marrying her rescuer and became Naruto-kun's mother. Because of the war and possible threats to her life, their marriage was known only to their closest associates. For the same reason, Naruto-kun took his mother's maiden name instead of using his father's," explained Itachi.

Kyuubi's nose took in a whiff of the unmasked ANBU before her as if sniffing to confirm the truthfulness of his story. She said, "I see. But you've left out the selfish reasons of evading another war and causing the boy to suffer unspeakable hell at the hands of the villagers that the Yondaime sacrificed to protect." She quirked an eyebrow. "And you seemed to have kept something else from me."

"Believe what you will," Itachi said, not willing to divulge the Sandaime's suspicion of some in the village who would kill Naruto if they found out his parentage. "But know this: Until he's strong enough, Sarutobi will keep this secret from the boy to protect him from his father's enemies."

There was a pause as Itachi allowed that to sink in. Sensing no deceit from him, Kyuubi eased off on the killer intent. She could still see him hiding his nervousness, however, though it was not due to being in her presence.

"Don't try my patience. Speak!" boomed forth Kyuubi's voice.

The events that unfold next would rock the very foundations of the Shinobi world.

Itachi explained, "I am here to bid you and Naruto-kun goodbye. I just received a mission to erase the Uchiha clan from the face of Konoha tomorrow. In doing so, I'll become a missing nin. No longer will I be able to look after Naruto-kun."

"I have a better idea. Leave his mind and let me avenge against Madara and the Sharingan. I'll take control of the boy's body and wipe out the Uchihas for you. And you don't have to be a missing nin." As Kyuubi said this, she flared her chakra. After all, she did not need and was not waiting for Itachi's response.

Itachi sent more chakra to his eyes and suppressed the bijuu. He reasoned with her, "Please. You know as well as I that if Naruto-kun was found any where near the clan compound, he would have been blamed for it even if you hadn't taken over his body. Imaging what they would do to him if you actually possessed his body and massacred the Uchiha clan. Whatever you do, make sure he's no where near the Uchiha compound tomorrow night."

"…" A low grumble was heard from the deflated bijuu.

Seizing the opportunity to continue, the ANBU said, "As I was saying, I'm leaving and I have a parting gift for Naruto-kun. Even though I won't be here to protect him any more, my gift will make him stronger and teach him how to protect himself."

Reaching into his ANBU cloak, he pulled out two ancient-looking manuscripts and continued, "I took these manuscripts from Uchiha's clan library. I'm not quite sure what techniques they contain, but they were hidden behind heavily layered genjutsus. A note on top of them said that they were stolen recently from a Buddhist monastery high in the mountains far from here. Apparently no one had a chance to look through them since they were all too busy planning a coup."

"A coup …?"

Ignoring the Kyuubi, Itachi continued, "I think one is a manuscript for sword art, and another is for cultivating one's inner powers." As he ended his explanation, he stretched forward the arm holding the two manuscripts. He walked forward and reached into the cage bars.

Using one of her tails, she wrapped it around the manuscripts.

Once he delivered his gift, Itachi stopped chakra flow to his eyes and returned to his person.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In the real world, the conversation in Naruto's mindscape was over quicker than a blink in the eye and without Naruto's knowledge, or the knowledge of the masked stranger watching from the roof top a distance away.

"I'm leaving on a trip tomorrow so you won't see me for a while," responded Itachi to Naruto's greeting to him.

Unaware of the flashing Sharingan and the brief pause before Itachi answered his greeting, Naruto asked, "But who's going to look after me if you're gone?"

"Don't worry Naruto-kun. Hokage will assign another person to watch over you. I'm going to take you home and rest up myself." Knowing Kyuubi could hear him, he parted with these words, "Be strong and show the world what a true shinobi is."

The trip to Naruto's apartment was quick and uneventful. Once the beaten boy entered his flat unit, he fell onto his bed with his face buried into the pillow. Exhaustion quietly claimed him as Kyuubi healed his wounds.

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts)

Three junior abbots gathered outside the Meditation Sanctuary of their Grand Master Abbot.

"Brother Feng, what do we do about the two stolen manuscripts?" asked a pacing middle-aged man with a worried face. "Do you think the Grand Master Abbot will be mad at us?"

"Brother Liu, do not worry," reassured a slightly older man named Feng. "The Grand Master Abbot has achieved the nirvana of Buddhism. He is not a man who would blame you for losing those two scrolls while you were outnumbered by an enemy ambush."

"But those two manuscripts contain the world's most powerful techniques ever created," said a third Junior Abbot. "If they end up in the wrong hands, as I fear that those who stole them were of the power-craving types, then the world will undergo two hundred years of suffering."

"Brother Zhu, that was the curse the Grand Master Abbot has agreed to when he vowed to protect the manuscripts until the appointed time. I'm sure he will have a solution for this," offered Liu, worried but determined to keep things on the positive.

"Enough of this," commanded Feng. "We'll continue to copy the Teachings of Buddha until the Grand Master Abbot finishes his secluded meditation. He will tell us what we need to do. He did after all foresee this happening; otherwise, he wouldn't have told us to take turns guarding them."

Though he tried to put on a brave front, Feng had an uneasy feeling inside.

_'Something bad is going to happen.'_

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Konoha)

With a firm grip on his katana, the Uchiha prodigy stood on the roof top facing his orange-masked stalker.

"Who are you and what do you want?" asked the calm and collected ANBU captain.

Slowly removing his orange mask, the man answered him in a perfect reflection of the patterned Uchiha monotone, "I mean you no harm. In fact, I have a proposition. My name is…."

…o.0.O.0.o…

Thank you for reading. I love feedbacks, so please review :D

Next… **Chapter 2: The Awakening!**


	2. The Awakening

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 2: The Awakening**

Revised – Final Version

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto or the 2 techniques described in this chapter.

…o.0.O.0.o…

(somewhere nearby the Monastery of the Ancient Manuscripts)

High in the sky, a soaring eagle eyed its prey splashing in the river below. It glided majestically from one hot air column to the next, letting the updrafts lift it to a higher altitude. As it reached its peak, it acrobatically looped backwards and dove towards its next meal. Perhaps aware of the fact that it might have an audience, the eagle twirled in the middle of its dive, adding a little showmanship to the already impressive feat. The eagle's beak easily navigated through the cold air columns, allowing their downward pressure to speed up its descent toward its target until it splashed down in the water. And then, just as quickly and gracefully, it surfaced with its desperately wiggling prize and sped toward the horizon.

On the riverbed, five spectators, monks in their early teens, sat in the meditative position. The oldest one addressed the youngest, "Fifth Apprentice Brother, what did you learn from what you just saw?"

Wearing a pensive expression, the youngest of them answered, "I'm not quite sure. Did it have anything to do with how to catch a fish?"

His comment about food was consistent with his ferocious appetite and elicited some stifled laughter from the Fourth Apprentice.

"Did any of you notice that the eagle did not flap its wings once during its whole flight until it reemerged from the water? Not once during its ascension or during its dive?" asked the First Apprentice, the acting group instructor.

"Now that you mentioned it … you might be on to something," concluded the Third Apprentice.

"Of course, you idiot, quit stating the obvious," chided the Second Apprentice as he punched the boy next to him. "First Apprentice Brother is teaching us how we can learn Kung Fu by observing the nature around us."

"Does anyone know how the eagle was able to do that?" asked their make-shift instructor, completely ignoring the Second and Third Apprentices' antics.

Seeing their shaking heads, the First Apprentice explained, "The eagle was able to glide without flapping its wings because it used the thermal air columns to its advantage. Its beak detected the slightest change of barometric pressure to find the rising hot air columns to elevate and the sinking cold air columns to speed up its downward dive."

"Excuse me, First Apprentice Brother, but what did that have to do with teaching us Kung Fu?" asked the youngest.

"Like this," he answered as he directed their attention to his Kung Fu.

Beginning with his hands resting on his knees, he channeled Qi around his body and began to slowly move his hands. As he made alternating circles in front of him, he weaved his arms through the crashing waves of Qi, generating a continuous gentle breeze around the group of apprentices in the process.

"When you channel Qi, you want to feel the way natural energy flows around you. That energy is a combination of Nature's Qi intermingled with your own. Like the eagle that let the thermal air columns work to its advantage, you too want to let Nature's Qi work to your advantage. You can do so by working with the way Qi flows. Remember: work with the flow of Qi, not against it."

At that moment, the clanging of the monastery bell resonated throughout the valley.

"Hurry!" ordered the First Apprentice as he leapt to his feet. "Let's get back to the mountain! The Grand Master Abbot has finally awakened from his solitary meditation."

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Naruto's mindscape)

Kyuubi had stayed up all night after healing Naruto. She was very frustrated with how weak her charge was, but really couldn't fault him for being in this predicament. Naruto didn't grow up in a family environment. He was an orphan from birth. Unlike other kids of his age born into a clan, he did not have anyone to watch over him or teach him how to defend himself.

As an orphan, he had no one looking after his diet. After all, how strong could he get eating ramen and drinking spoiled milk? Naruto could have benefited from adding meat and vegetables into his diet, but he was turned off by their taste since the shops only sold him rotten produce and maggot-ridden meat.

"Damn those village bigots! If something like last night ever happens to my charge again, I'll take over his body and finish what I've started," seethed Kyuubi. Never mind that her attack on Konoha was because of Madara.

Pushing aside her frustrations, Kyuubi finally let her curiosity got the better of her. With two of her tails whipping forward, holding Itachi's parting gift, she busied herself in deciphering those manuscript.

At first glance, they were exactly as described. The manuscripts were ancient and emitted a commanding aura around them. They projected the spiritual essence of those who mastered these powerful techniques in the past.

Finding her bestial appendages quite inadequate for combing through the pages in the manuscripts, she transformed herself into a beautiful woman with a presence commanding royalty. She examined the manuscripts more carefully with her graceful hands. She could have transformed into any shape or form, but hands were needed for this task and her pride would not allow her to transform into a form any less elegant.

"The thicker manuscript is entitled, The Nine Yangs of Qi. The first few pages explain what Qi is," said Kyuubi to herself. Opening to the first page, she read, "Qi is, was, and always will be. The essence of Qi exists in all things breathing, plants and animals, large and small. Qi is the force of nature, the reminiscence of creation, the balancing of opposites, breathes of gods. It moves to and fro without hindrance. It can be channeled but cannot be contained."

"Many foolish humans think that Qi and chakra are the same, but Qi is more primitive and untamed. Actually, raw is a more fitting description," Kyuubi mouthed to herself as she flipped through the rest of the pages.

The rest of the manuscript was just as riddled. Kyuubi didn't find any ninjutsu or taijutsu techniques. It was merely a plain manuscript that contained mostly theories and prayer chants. It had nothing on chakra or elemental manipulation. In fact, the ideas it contained were different to the foundations of the shinobi arts in every way.

"This will be completely revolutionary for that pathetic vessel of mine," Kyuubi concluded with a smirk.

Kyuubi had known about Qi.

_'It is different from chakra and acts independently of it. Chakra is what results from combining physical energy that the body normally produces with the spiritual energy that's gained from experience and meditation. Qi, on the other hand, is the energy that exists from the beginning of creation and is found in all things natural. It moves in a balance of plurality in negative and positive, namely, Yin and Yang.'_

In fact, many believed that the bond between the positive and negative Qi, Yin and Yang, to be the strongest bond in existence. And, according to the manuscript, separating that bond would unleash unfathomable power that could be harnessed if one knew how.

THAT was what made the** Nine Yangs of Qi **remarkable: The ability to harness that power.

Kyuubi elatedly concluded, "My vessel will become powerful once he learns this. It may even help him use more of my demonic chakra with less damage to his body. Too bad this is too advanced for an eight-year-old to understand or perform. He would need to learn about Qi and how to channel it first."

Tossing the larger manuscript aside for later, she moved on to the second one.

"The Swordsman's Four Decrees: A swordsman is his sword. A sword is its wielder. A swordsman and his sword are one. A swordsman and his sword are none," mouthed Kyuubi as she glanced over the first page.

Looking at the cover again, she read its title, "The Sword Art of Nine Lonesome Stances."

Flipping back to the first page, she learned more about the origins of the spiritual aura emanating from this manuscript.

The **Nine Lonesome Sword Stances** were created centuries ago by a swordsman of no equal: DuGu QiuBai. Using the sword art he developed, he defeated every martial artist alive, sword welders or not. Once he commenced his attacks, he was never forced to defend. At first, he was quite happy to see how his genius and hard work paid off, and he relished in fighting worthy opponents and testing his sword stances against them. The better his opponents fought, the more brilliantly he manifested his sword stances. But after he defeated all schools of martial arts, he found fewer and fewer worthy opponents and loneliness soon overtook him. It was for this reason his sword art was named. For the rest of his life, he journeyed across the world looking for opponents that could last three seconds with him or capable of forcing him into a defensive stance and found none. Finally, depressed and nearing insanity, he became a hermit and was never heard from again. His legend lived on as the Lonesome Hermit of the Nine Sword Stances.

'_Great, a nutcase who wrote in riddles,' _sighed the frustrated Kyuubi to herself. _'These insignificant old fools must have thought they were pretty intelligent in coming up with these riddles to pass on their weak footsy plays as "great" martial arts.'_

Kyuubi tugged her lips to the right for a pensive smile. If Kyuubi was honest with herself, she would have admitted having been impressed by the "simple yet complex" duality in the poses of both manuscripts.

The bijuu was hoping to just hand off the manuscripts to Naruto and be done with it. That was if she found a way to set up their long awaited meeting. Yet, having seen just how these manuscripts were heavily riddled, she knew that hell would freeze over before her jailor could figure out what those sages of martial arts tried to convey.

To get her charge worthy of being her vessel, Kyuubi resigned to the fact that she might have to take a more hands-on approach than she would have liked to.

Fortunately, the rest of the sword art manuscript proved to be helpful toward Kyuubi's purposes. In addition to its riddled written explanation, the sword art manuscript contained comprehensive illustrations on sword attack patterns, the human anatomy, and a map of all existing pressure points.

"Yes, finally, illustrations!" exclaimed Kyuubi with relief washing over her face. "I think I'll have him start learning the sword art first."

The transformed fox found that there was more to these nine stances than she had initially thought.

"The Nine Stances are the Composite Stance, Sword-Conquering Stance, Knife-Conquering Stance, Spear-Conquering Stance, Whip-Conquering Stance, Kick-Conquering Stance, Palm-Conquering Stance, Missile-Conquering Stance, and Energy-Conquering Stance," read the faux beauty with raised eyebrows. Looking through the narrative explanation and the sword attack illustrations for the first few stances, her jaw dropped. "Holy crap! Can these stances do what their names claim they can do? … Each of the stances has hundreds of variations! First stance alone has three hundred sixty variations! No wonder this sword art is undefeated."

She continued reading the **Nine Stances**. Once finished, she moved back to reading the **Nine Yangs**. Already long lost the track of time….

Finally, light shined through the windows that were Naruto's eyes into the cage and welcomed the transformed beauty the arrival of another day. Having read both manuscripts and pondered over how to train Naruto, Kyuubi devilishly grinned at how powerful her vessel would become once he mastered them. She resolved to make another attempt to communicate with him tonight.

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Konoha)

True to Itachi's words, the Sandaime assigned Naruto another ANBU to personally watch over him. Naruto found that out when he visited the Hokage tower after he woke up. He was looking for some explanation from the aged leader about where Weasel-san was going.

The Sandaime's secretary ushered Naruto through two Mahogany doors to be greeted by an aged, wrinkled man with receding hairline sitting behind a paper-pilled desk and a spiky silver-haired ANBU standing with a dog mask attached to his face.

Sarutobi Hiruzen briefly introduced them to each other.

"So, Doggy-san, you are going to watch over me now, huh?" asked Naruto with a quirked eyebrow.

He was trying to get a feel for his new protector. With all that Naruto had to endure in his short life, he found it hard to trust people. But if the old man was okay with this good-for-nothing-looking slacker, then Naruto was going to give him a chance.

"Hai, Naruto," answered the ANBU with a huge sweat drop. Then with a mental sigh of relieve, he thought to himself, '_I'm glad I'm not a female.'_

"Do you know where Weasel-san went and when he's coming back?" asked Naruto.

Itachi was Kakashi's successor a few months ago who had recently asked the former captain to replace him, saying it was only to be temporary until he got his life in order. Thus, when Kakashi heard Naruto's question, with raised eyebrows behind his mask, the newly re-assigned ANBU captain looked to his Hokage for answers. Naruto, too, turned his attention to the man behind the paper-piled desk.

If Hiruzen was surprised by Naruto's inquiry, he did not let it show. With his wrinkles showing experience, the aged man dismissed both puzzled faces, "He requested a mission that will take him away for a while."

The Third's answer did not satisfy the dog mask ANBU. He had more questions, but he would have to ask the Hokage later ... _if_ the aged leader was willing to tell him.

Seeing Naruto's dejected face, Hiruzen quickly added, "Naruto, would you like to bef strong like your Weasel-san?"

"Would I ever! Tell me what I have to do old man!" shouted the perked up bundle of energy in orange jumpsuit, barely able to keep his feet on the ground.

While the ANBU was frowning behind his mask at Naruto's lack of respect, the Hokage was grinning inside that he got the desired reaction from Naruto.

"You'll have to join the Ninja Academy. How about let me tell you more during dinner at my place?" asked the Sandaime with a satisfying grin, one not unnoticed by the ANBU.

This time Naruto lost it completely. Pumping his fists and jumping into the air, he shouted, "Yatta! I'm one step closer to become a Hokage!"

Having picked up Kakashi's suspicions, the aged Kage pretended to ignore his presence. He offered an explanation for his invitation, but directed his comment toward Naruto, "My son Asuma recently returned from his training mission with the Guardian Monks. The family planned to have dinner to celebrate his return. Why don't you meet me here at 5 and we'll go there together?"

Naruto bobbed his head up and down before saying and waving his good-byes to the old man and the masked ANBU.

"Hokage-sama, about Weasel-san," Kakashi began, wanting to ask about what had really happened to Itachi, but was stopped from continuing when he saw his Commander-in-Chief's raised hand, signalling his unwillingness to continue.

"That'll be all, Kakashi," said the wizen leader. "Dismissed."

"Hai."

Kakashi left Hokage's office with lots of questions on his mind. First, there was "Weasel-san," the former ANBU captain. Kakashi wanted to know why Naruto, an eight-year-old boy would know more about the activities of one of the elite ninja in the village than a former ANBU captain did. Then there was Hokage's reaction to Naruto's knowledge or disclosure of this. Something about this did not sit right with the silver haired nin.

Another thing that bothered Kakashi was Naruto himself.

No, Kakashi wasn't someone ignorant of the difference between a prisoner and a jailer, between a scroll and something sealed in it, and the Third knew this or otherwise wouldn't have selected him as Naruto's new guardian.

What Kakashi did not understand was the relationship between the boy and the aged Kage. It was too familiar, like the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson. Sure, a kind and caring Kage would protect the village well, but something was bothering Kakashi. Why would the Hokage go the extra miles to invite him to dinner? And tonight of all nights?

Things just did not make sense to the ANBU. Feeling quite frustrated by his uneasiness, he reached into his side utility pouch and pull out his little orange book. Somehow he knew something big was going to happen tonight and his easiness would turn for worse tomorrow.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Our hero was seen walking with the Hokage towards the Sarutobi compound, which was on the opposite side of the village from the Uchiha compound. Later on, something unexpected would happen to Naruto that prevented him from returning to his apartment. Tonight was also the night of the Uchiha massacre.

Naruto had never been invited to another's home before. Surely, the aged Kage had shown him hospitality before by treating Naruto to Ichiraku Ramen when he wasn't busy tending to the village. But this invitation to the Sarutobi compound solidified their close relationship even more.

The normally hyperactive loud-mouth knucklehead wore a solemn expression as he followed behind the Sandaime and stepped through the compound doors. He knew this was an important and rare occasion for him, even though to anyone else it was just a casual family gathering. Naruto would be on his best behaviors tonight.

Arriving at the dining hall, a mouth-watering aroma greeted the two late arrivals. The Sandaime quickly introduced Naruto to those present. About twelve persons were there, some seated and some brought rest of the food to the table.

"Jiji! You're here! Who's that?" shouted five year old boy with a brown pineapple hair as he ran open armed to greet his grandfather, only to stop suddenly to point at the newcomer.

Hugging his grandson, the aged man answered, "This is Naruto. You can view him as an older brother."

"Okay!" responded Konohamaru. He was eager to play with someone closer to his age and demanded with a droopy-eyed pout that would make his future girlfriend proud, "Naruto-niisan, can we play ninja after dinner?"

Naruto looked at Hiruzen, unsure if doing so would overstay his welcome. Receiving a nod from the Sandaime, Naruto gave Konohamaru his foxy smile and said, "Only if I get to be the good guy."

The rest of their dinner continued smoothly with Naruto in his best behavior. The Sandaime had Asuma relate to everyone his training with the Guardian Monks in their temple located in a remote part of the Fire Country. He paid attention to the conversations around him and interjected his own comments when appropriate.

Unbeknown to the village pariah, those present were watching him closely. Those who had unfavorable opinions of him slowly warmed up to him.

Meanwhile, Naruto was making a mental recording of the night's activity to be filed away later as "what family life should be." He vowed to do what he could to have his own family one day.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Kyuubi had tuned out most of the sounds echoing from the two drums that were Naruto's ears located on opposite sides of her cage. This was no easy feat and took her years to perfect. To phrase it nicely, Naruto was enthusiastic about everything. He was stamina personified. The kid was not known for keeping still; in fact, Kyuubi did not even think it would be possible due to his inherently insane stamina and large chakra reserves and the enhancement from the addition of the Nine Tails. This hyperactivity affected his speech and volume as well, which was unfortunate for the sealed bijuu who had a closer proximity than anyone to the high volume from the loud-mouth Knucklehead.

However, tonight Naruto was quieter than usual. This suited the Nine Tails just fine as she executed her plans. Prior to coming, Kyuubi had made forty attempts to get through the Yondaime's seal. It had not mattered how much chakra she put behind her efforts, all of her attempts had failed.

'_I know I probably won't be able to get around this damnable seal, especially with him not being weakened or emotionally derailed,'_ mused Kyuubi.

_'Since this Asuma character trained with the Guardian Monks, he might just be the right person to train Naruto in these two powerful techniques. If I can get Naruto to ask him to be his sensei…'_

Deciding that ramming chakra of any amount against the seal was unproductive, she analyzed her options.

"It seems that the boy is not even aware of my attempts," muttered the Kyuubi to herself. "That means the amount of the boy's chakra feeding into strengthening the seal remains constant. The amount of chakra required to enforce the seal doesn't need to adjust proportionally to the amount of force I use against the seal. This also means that the seal can sense my presence or the presence of my chakra."

Pausing for a moment to reflect on this new conclusion, the Nine Tails came up with a new approach using the Qi that she read about. She pensively stated, "What if I suppress my chakra and channel Qi into him instead?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

As the family meal continued on to desert, the two only shinobi present noticed a sudden energy spike coming from Naruto before his face slammed unconsciously onto the table.

"Hey, Naruto," said the woman sitting next to him as she rocked him gently. "Are you okay? Wake up or you'll miss dessert."

"What's wrong with Naruto-niisan?" shouted Konohamaru from across the table with a worried face.

Asuma and his father both rushed to the boy.

"I think we should take him to the hospital," suggested the worried Jounin.

"Not yet," his father said as he walked over to check Naruto's vitals and examined his seal. Detecting nothing apparently abnormal, the Sandaime announced to the rest of the worried faces around the table, "Don't worry. He's okay. Just need a little rest and he'll be back to normal."

"We're going to take him into spare room. Please continue in our absence. We'll be back soon," reassured the bearded Jounin as he picked up Naruto bridal style. The three left the dining hall and headed toward the sleeping quarters.

Turning to this son, with a lowered face the Third whispered, "Did you feel _that_ chakra too?"

Both men chose to be secretive in everything abnormal about Naruto since Asuma's nephew Konohamaru was also there at the reunion dinner.

"I don't think it's _that_ chakra. Actually, it might not even be chakra," Asuma answered it in an all-too-innocent vagueness, enjoying every bit of feeling he knew something that his dad the "Professor" didn't.

"All right, Asuma, spill it," Hiruzen urged with a playful annoyance.

"It's the same as that thing I experienced during my training," Asuma added, milking the situation.

"Whatever it is," the aged Kage continued with a worried tone, "I don't want him anywhere else tonight. Besides, it would be wise if we both keep an eye on him, just in case."

Once they set Naruto down into the spare bed, the Third did a few hand seals to activate a sound barrier. Turning to Asuma, he demanded, "In the meantime, explain how THAT is related to your training with the Guardian Monks."

They never returned to the dining hall that night.

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **Qi is pronounced "chi."

I'm now giving credit to Jin Yong for writing about those two techniques in his WuXia novels. I'm not sure if he's the creator/originator of these techniques, but his writings are the only ones where I've read them in.

Jin Yong is regarded as one of the greatest novelists of the WuXia genre. While his novels (9 or 10 – not sure, but you can check in wikipedia) may not number as many as his contemporaries, his writings exuberate the classical elegance of Steinbeck, the page-turning pace of Grisham, and the addictiveness of Rowling. I know I'm putting him on a high pedestal, but if you've read him before, you know what I'm talking about… He's that good. (I taught myself to read Chinese just to read his novels that haven't been completely translated into English.)

If you find Jin Yong interesting or would like to read more about the two techniques (9 Stances and 9 Yangs) in his writings, you'll like these two novels of his:

1.) _The Smiling Proud Wanderer_, 笑傲江湖, translated by Lannyland. Just add dot com to him and you'll get his page. Chapter 10 is entitled, "Sword Training."

2.) _Heavenly Sword, Dragon Slaying Sabre_. 倚天屠龍記. A collaboratively translated version can be found in wuxiapedia dot com. Chapter 21 is where the protagonist showed off the power of 9 Yangs.

If you want to read these in raw Chinese, PM me.

Sorry, just realized I hadn't explained WuXia yet. WuXia is by far the most popular genre in the Chinese literature. It features awesome kung fu fights in a setting of antiquity China where its peoples base their actions, views on justice and revenge, decorum, behaviors toward love and friendship, and virtually all standards of honor and righteousness on the philosophical code of morals heavily tinted with how nature is embodied in all martial arts. If this is still not clear, and it wouldn't be, you can read wikipedia's wordier explanation. A long elaboration on WuXia is not my idea of a _brief_ A/N.

Let me know what you think about this chapter.

By the way, I reply to ALL reviews.

Next… **Chapter 3: Sword Training 101**


	3. Sword Training 101

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 3: Sword Training 101**

Revised – Final Version

**Disclaimer:** If I own Naruto, he would be the one having fan girls instead of Sasuke. I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those WuXia techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto found himself knee-deep in sewer water. The walls on either side of him ran up into the darkness-engulfed oblivion above him and created a pathway in front of him, twisting and turning toward what seemed like the center of a labyrinth. Light emanated from that direction. Unsure of what to expect, Naruto nervously treaded forward.

"What is this? and where am I? Where are the old man and his family?" he asked aloud, turning his head as his eyes gathered information on his surroundings.

As Naruto continued toward the light source, he felt a pulsing aura mixture of tranquility and malice. The red glow was faint and suppressed, and the white aura provided Naruto with an inviting serenity. The closer to the center he got, the stronger the pulses and brighter his surroundings became. Gradually he was able to discern the strange markings on the walls. Those markings were glowing with a white calming aura running through their veins. Occasionally streaks of red flashes appeared within the white markings, appearing on the walls like random crackles of fireworks. Finally the boy arrived at the entrance to a big arena that was the epicenter of this mysterious energy pulse.

Behind a gigantic cage a voice sounded, "Welcome to this deplorable place that is your mind, brat!" The words were harsh, but the voice that sounded them was melodiously seductive.

Naruto saw a woman standing behind bars of a cage that seemed many times too big for her. The woman wore a maroon lacy mesh dress that was almost see-through. Her long wavy blond hair flowed down to cover just enough of her chest and privates. Her ivory silky skin could be seen on her exposed arms and hands.

The woman furrowed her brows.

Sounding seductive, cute, or inviting was not part of Kyuubi's well-thought-out plan to 'greet' her pathetically weak jailor. The demon fox had originally wanted to greet him in her terrifying bestial body, but was unable to transform back while suppressing her chakra.

'_Kuso! I wanted to make him wet his pants on his first meeting with the great Kyuubi no Kitsune in her full nine story glory, but I can't risk using my chakra and sending him back to his world yet. The bearded prodigal son would be no threat, but the wrinkled prune of a Kage might do something to prevent me from communicating with the boy again.'_

Accepting her temporary human form as something she could not change for now, she continued her musing, which caused her lips to tug into a smirk.

'_Even though the first meeting didn't go exactly as planned, I was still able to beat the despicable Fourth and his damnable seal. I'm determined not to have a weak jailor anymore; I refuse to take this lying down.'_

As Kyuubi basked in the glow of in some way defeating the Yondaime, the seal on her cage glowed slightly, showing that it was working exactly as designed.

The Fourth engineered the seal to allow Kyuubi an option to initiate communication with Naruto under non-life-threatening situations IF Kyuubi approach her jailor without any malicious intent. This helpful provision would allow Kyuubi to become Naruto's guardian in the truest sense: train him or offer sound and experienced advice on a whim, even under situations sans danger. Ironically the ingenuity of the Yondaime was the main reason that the Kitsune was successful.

Of course, the Yondaime did not factor in Kyuubi's use of Qi, or more specifically, the Yang or the positive of Qi. The tailed beasts were inherently evil because of their demonic chakra. Therefore, when the bijuu suppressed her chakra, she effectively suppressed a majority of her malicious intent. Furthermore, whatever non-chakra-related malice remained in Kyuubi was neutralized when she channeled Qi, or more specifically Yang.

Upon seeing the sight of the beauty behind bars, Naruto walked closer and called out, "Did I die? If so, are you an angel? Or are you my mother? And why are you behind bars?"

Naruto was really hoping that this woman was his mother greeting him in afterlife.

A huge tick mark appeared on Kyuubi's face. To say that she was pissed would be like saying Jiraiya was a little bit perverted or Orochimaru was a minor criminal. In other words, a huge understatement.

She was the most feared of all tailed beasts and arguably the most powerful. She wanted ... no, _needed_ ... to put her jailor in his place. She needed him to know who she was and how she felt having been caged inside the Fourth's Shinigami seal to suffer eight years of inactivity.

"I'm not your mother! I'm the most powerful of all tailed demons – the fear-inspiring Kyuubi no Kitsune!" shouted the humanoid of the strongest of all tailed beast, showing her gridlocked teeth and giving it her all in this failed display of intimidating factor.

"But you were killed by the Yondaime. That means you're here to torture me in afterlife. But how did I get here? Oh no, don't tell me the old man … did he poison me? Or was it one of his servants?" rambled the whiskered boy, clearly reflecting his age as he showered Kyuubi with a barrage of non-stop questions.

Kyuubi became more impatient and furious upon hearing his annoying antics. As the demon was about to let Naruto feel the brunt of her fury, she saw his existence flickered in synch with her own temper flares. Realizing that she was leaking demonic chakra, she hurriedly reined in her chakra and channeled more Qi than was necessary.

Qi normally had a calming effect to any situation, but Kyuubi did not merely channel Qi. Applying what she read, she channeled her Yang, which when isolated from Yin was twice as effective in neutralizing malicious intent. Almost immediately a burst of light of calming purity engulfed the boy in front of the cage and pulsed throughout the mindscape in circular ripples.

The white aura made the orange-suited energizer feel and act calmly and collectedly, even if only for the duration of being in his mindscape. Naruto experienced a mental clarity he never knew was possible. He felt innocent, safe, protected, and complete. Wrapped in Yang's white aura, he felt loved for the first time in his life. Sure, he felt _cared for_ by the Third and _protected_ by the assigned ANBU, but he had yet to feel loved. Keeping his wits about him, he pondered.

'_Why am I feeling this way? I thought she was trying to torture me? This must be a trick. Ha! Her tricks won't work against Konoha's Master of Pranks.'_

Naruto did not know that his feeling this way around the femme humanoid was unintentional on Kyuubi's part.

The amount of Yang Kyuubi channeled was worthy of her nine story glory. However, that much Yang confined in a significantly smaller humanoid body caused an unwanted calming side-effect to herself that overpowered Kyuubi's innate temperaments. Unwilling to surrender to the situation that was ultimately, though indirectly, purposed by the Yondaime and his seal, Kyuubi reminded herself the _real_ reason for this meeting.

'_I'm doing this for my own selfish reasons. I'm doing this for me. The kid is an unintentional beneficiary of my efforts.'_

Unbeknownst to Kyuubi, Qi had already suppressed her most evil reason for communicating with Naruto. Intoxicated in her Yang, she no longer recalled wanting to find ways to take control of Naruto and be emancipated from her prison. She had resigned to her fate as a captive.

Just as she felt a tinkling of feelings she had never felt toward a human crept toward her heart, she chanted the following thoughts like mantra:_ 'I'm doing this for my own selfish reasons.'_ Her denial soon became an impossible uphill battle.

"Come closer. We have much to discuss," called out the transformed beauty. Despite her best effort at shouting or at sounding harsh and distant, her voice flowed out melodiously toward the beauty-stricken boy who could not stop staring at her while parting his lips slightly. Looking at the boy, she sighed. She too was unable to fight against this overwhelming abundance of positive energy around her.

Pushing her unnatural and foreign feelings aside, she began by explaining to Naruto about bijuus, jinchuurikis, Yondaime's sacrificial sealing, and the reason ostracized him. Doing so was no mere feat. Often she had to repeat herself and paraphrase her statements using simpler words. She took extra care in making sure Naruto understand that he was not a demon, but a hero of Konoha.

"So now that you are brought up to speed on things, how about me getting you stronger so that you are worthy to be my vessel?" asked the woman in the pinnacle of her beauty.

"Why are you helping me?" asked Naruto this obvious question, his face expressing distrust. Knowing the beautiful woman in front of him was actually transformed from a giant ferocious demon made Naruto suspicious of whatever help she offered him.

Though Kyuubi did not want to divulge what she considered to be her weakest and most embarrassing moment in her entire unblemished existence, she realized that she had to if she wanted to gain Naruto's trust.

"I'm not the predatory bloodlust evil incarnate that stories made me out to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm evil and ruthless when I need to be, and I'm easily provoked and lack self-restraint. However, I am not an aggressor. I and many of my tailed-beast cronies prefer a hands-off approach to human affairs."

"Then why did you attack Konoha?" asked the lonely boy. "If you hadn't, then I wouldn't have been ostracized by the village. Maybe someone would have adopted me into a loving family and I wouldn't have to grow up all alone."

'_Actually, your parents would have been alive and doting you with love,' _thought the humanoid female. Then she shook her head furiously to shake off 'doting' and 'lovy' thoughts from her mind. It couldn't be helped. Despite her resistance, Qi was slowly corrupting her evil persona.

Kyuubi chose to keep secret his parentage for now. Her reasons were the same as the Third's and wanted to protect the still defenseless boy against the potential enemies that such knowledge would bring.

"I was summoned to the human realm from my slumber and tricked into attacking Konoha. The man who did it was an Uchiha with an advance Sharingan … Uchiha Madara … someone with eyes more sinister than my own. I would explain more, but we don't have time for that. Just know that I'm helping you for two reasons. First I want you to be strong and reflect well of me as the vessel to the most powerful of all tailed beasts. Second though I want to kill the Uchiha myself, if I can't get out of this seal, I want someone I trained to do it for me."

"Don't worry. I've got plenty of reasons to get him myself for causing the death of so many innocent people and for all the pain and suffering in my life," fumed Naruto. Under normally circumstances, Naruto would have been an emotional wreck trying to get over the shock of learning what he learned tonight. But this strange white aura pulsing all around was quickly calming him.

"Well you have more reason to than anyone." Reeling the conversation back to training, she continued, "There are two techniques I'm going to teach you. By the time I'm done with you, you'll truly become a vessel worthy of the great and feared Kyuubi no Kitsune. The first technique we'll start with involves sword training," came Kyuubi's response.

"Cool!" exclaimed an exciting voice that soon became deflated, "but I don't have a sword."

"You don't need one yet," explained the beauty. "This technique is called, 'Nine Lonesome Sword Stances.' For you to gain mastery over this technique, you must understand the theory of sword art behind it."

"Ha! Nine stances? Don't sound like much to me? I bet Asuma knows more stances than that!" mocked Naruto.

"Shut it brat! Just listen…"

Naruto listened intensely as the mesmerizing female elaborated on the names of those stances and enumerated the hundreds upon hundreds of variations each stance contained. She then recounted the story of the Hermit of the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances.

"An undefeatable hermit? A sword art without match?" Naruto was awe-inspired by how powerful the **Nine Stances **were and shouted, "Okay, I'll do it!"

"I don't know if you can," teased the grinning transformed Kitsune. "It'll require years if not decades of hard work to master. The training alone will be so intense that you might even die. From what I've seen in your eight years of pathetic existence, you are too weak to survive this type of training."

Hook. Line. Sinker.

"Oh yeah? I'll prove you wrong! I won't fail because I'm going to be the Hokage one day and get the village to respect me just like they do the old man," announced Naruto with a fierce determined stare.

"Fine. I'll let you try," said the caged beauty with a feigned nonchalance. She opened the manuscript and began to teach him the **Nine Lonesome Sword Stances**.

Kyuubi did not just lecture Naruto. That would have accomplished little more than seeing if Naruto could recall facts like a tape recorder. Kyuubi did not want a tape recorder for a vessel. The strongest of all tailed beasts wanted a strong ninja, formidable in both physical and mental prowess.

Besides, the **Nine Stances **could not be mastered by merely memorizing sword theories, movements, positions and stances. To exercise **Nine Stances **to their fullest power, their user must be able to apply the theories described in the manuscript to read the subtle hints of movements in his opponent and improvise from the variations within each of the **Nine Stances**.

With an intelligence befitting of a Kitsune with countless years of existence, she taught Naruto by asking questions that led Naruto to the right answers. So Kyuubi did not end up with a tape recorder as her vessel. She ended up with a free thinking strategist.

"Wow! That actually makes sense," remarked Naruto after having learned the **Swordsman's Four Decrees**, the cornerstone principles of mastering the **Nine Stances**.

"Well, it has to for you to master the Nine Stances. Maybe you're not such a baka after all. Remember: Impromptu unpredictability and skilled ingenuity are what makes the Nine Stances so formidable," added the regal beauty.

"Don't worry, I got unpredictability covered!" proclaimed the young prank master.

"Good. Now I want you to reach one arm into my cell," said the Kyuubi. Once her student did so, she placed a manuscript into his hand. "This manuscript contains the legacy of the Lonesome Hermit. Inside you'll find detailed explanations written in poetic poses, comprehensive illustrations on sword attack patterns, the human anatomy, and a map of all existing pressure points. I want you to turn to section on human anatomy and pressure points. You'll need to learn those first so you'll know where the vital points are in your opponents. I want you to turn to the first illustration and focus your mind on it."

Once an enlarged image of a human body manifested on the wall, Kyuubi diligently pointed out every body part and its functions to her protégé. Every limb, every digit, every organ, every bone, and every muscle. There were some awkward and embarrassing moments when certain body parts were explained and when gender differences were questioned and elaborated on. When they were finished with human anatomy and pressure points, they returned to the illustrations on sword attack patterns.

"Now imagine a sword," commanded his teacher.

"Whoa!" reacted Naruto when a sword materialized in his right hand.

"Remember this is your mindscape. Anything you say here goes. Well, almost anything. Training in your mindscape has its benefits. For one, time moves very slowly here. One hour in the real world feels like five days in your mindscape. Since you don't have a fleshly body in here, you do not need to eat or sleep and can make the most of your time training."

"Great! That means I'll master the Nine Stances by the time I return to the real world!" proclaimed the blond.

"Hate to burst your bubbles kit! But you'll only gain head knowledge with whatever you learned here. That is the biggest disadvantage of training in your mindscape: You can't retain muscle memory, speed, or strength because you are not training with a real body," explained the beautiful humanoid.

"Oh well," shrugged Naruto, "that means I'll have to train hard in the real world so my body can catch up."

"That's the spirit kid," commended the faux femme. "Now project the illustrations in the book to the wall and imitate the sword thrusts of the stick figures. I'll correct your posture."

…o.0.O.0.o…

In a spared bedroom at the sleeping quarters in the Sarutobi compound, Naruto's body remained motionless. The aged Kage and the bearded Jounin sat next to the small whiskered blond. Both donned on their favorite tobacco smoke as they engaged in a lively discussion….

"So you are telling me that this energy that some Guardian Monks used is more powerful than chakra?" exclaimed the older man with quirked eyebrows, his right hand holding his pipe. This evening kept getting more surprising for the aged Professor.

"I'm not sure if that's the best way to differentiate Qi from chakra," stated Asuma with a shrug. He went on to explain Qi and chakra using the verbal imageries borrowed from the monks of the Senior Orders who had explained it to him.

"If Qi exists in all of us, then why haven't you learned how to channel it? For that matter, why can't I?" inquired the Sandaime.

"To gain mastery over it, you must become one with yourself and your surroundings. And while you are learning it, you must rid yourself of any impure thoughts. At the time, I couldn't keep my mind out of the gutter regarding a certain teammate of mine," answered the bearded Jounin while wiping a slight nosebleed.

"Oh yeah, how could I forget that 'accident' you had when you were peeking at Kurenai in the bath house?" whispered the older man with a spaced-out stare and a drooling grin.

The bearded chain smoker's eyes twitched uncontrollably as he looked at his father.

"Though the steam was thick, through my crystal ball, I was able to make out the outlining of her heavenly curves," continued the older pervert whose hands traced a contour of his imagination. His face returned frozen in that same perverted expression.

"DAAAD!"

Snapping out of his stupor, the Sandaime's mischevious eyes widen slightly. He asked, "So son, you are really serious about this girl huh?"

"I admit that she's been on my mind, but I can't say if the feeling is mutual. Hell, I don't even know if she remembers me after my two-year absence. Anyway, it's too early to say if anything will come out of this, but one thing I know for sure… I want to settle down and have a family of my own," confessed the bearded Jounin.

"You have my blessing my son. You'll make a good husband and a good father. Just remember that life is short, especially for us ninja. We never know when we'll be called upon to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the mission or the village. Treasure every moment of happiness and don't leave missed opportunities so when your time comes, you'll have lived life with no regrets," imparted the aged sage. Trying to keep a face of innocence, Hizuren jested, "You know, as the Hokage, I can set up missions for you and Kurenai so you'll get to spend some time with her."

"DAD! I'm not going to give you open invitations to peek on us through your crystal ball. If I go out with her or anyone else, it will be at an undisclosed time and location."

The older Sarutobi made no response as his perverted grin returned and remained plastered on his face.

"DAAAD!"

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Monastery of the Ancient Manuscripts)

Sitting in the lotus position inside the Meditation Room, the Grand Master Abbot finally made a movement after so many days of leaving his body comatose while his mind traversed through realms of meditation. Opening his eyes, he saw a room with walls and doors covered with the talisman markings of the Eight Guards. These markings were everywhere in the room – walls, floor, and ceiling – making it nearly impossible to enter or exit. The only way to defeat the talisman markings was from the inside, and only with a great deal of force.

Gathering Qi while making two wide circles with his rotating arms, he reigned in his arms, rotated his wrists to form two palms perfect for striking, and thrust his palms toward the doors in front of him. The energy around him quickly entered into his body and was channeled into his palm strike. Even though he sat too far from the doors for his palms to actually make contact with them, the Qi from the strike traveled the difference and slammed into the doors. The first wave of Qi enveloped the doors to strengthen them from shattering under the overwhelming power of the palm strike. The last wave of Qi carried the weight of two full-grown elephants and forced the doors open.

There was a reason why the palm strike was called Elephant Palm.

Outside the Meditation Room sat the three Junior Abbots, their shock clearly visible on their faces. They had sensed the incredible amount of Qi being gathered, and they had channeled Qi themselves to form a protective dome around them to shield them from the possible flying wood splinters from the sure-to-be-shattered doors. Yet, they found themselves gaping at the perfectly intact doors while being pushed back several yards by the Qi of the Elephant Palm.

"Sorry my dear apprentices," said the man existing from the Meditation Room. "I guess I don't know my own strength." The Grand Master Abbot was a man nearing his seventy, yet, save the long white beard, he looked and acted as if he was still in the youthful vigor of his prime.

"Master Wong, we regretfully inform you that we have…" commenced his first apprentice.

"No need Feng," interrupted Wong, holding up his hand to silence the younger man. "I'm already aware of the theft of the two ancient manuscripts. After all, it was a curse our monastery had to bear. Don't worry Liu; I'm not going to fault you for losing the manuscript. Under the circumstances, the result would have been no different were it your two apprentice brothers guarding them."

The youngest of the three junior abbots breathed a sigh of relief, while the middle apprentice looked shocked at how their master had pardoned so easily such an egregious mistake of unleashing two of the most powerful Kung Fu techniques into the hands of power-hungry thieves.

"Zhu, don't be so hard on Liu," continued Wong.

"Master," said Zhu. Realizing his own faults, he bowed before his teacher and continued, "I'm sorry my immaturity worried you."

"Master, what are we to do?" asked Feng.

"Do not worry my apprentices, I have sensed that the manuscripts have found their rightful guardian, though he doesn't know about his destiny yet," reassured the Grand Master Abbot. He decided against informing them that it was yet unknown as to how the new guardian would fulfill the prophecy – for good or evil.

"Master, did I hear correctly?" Zhu asked in surprise. "Did you just say 'guardian' as in _one_ person?"

"Yes, he is the prophesied Guardian of the Two Nines," answered Wong. "It is written, 'Every ten-thousand moons rises one guardian over two nines. Behind him bowed Nine Qis and Nine Swords. Before him bowed fate and destiny.'"

"Master, what about the curse of the two hundred years of suffering?" asked Liu.

"Liu, that curse refers to what could happen once the manuscripts got stolen by this Monastery. If the Guardian Prophecy is accurate, then only the Dual Guardian could break that curse."

"Master, what does this Guardian Prophecy mean?" asked Feng.

"Only time will tell," said Wong. "Meanwhile, as the current Guardian of the Nine Yangs of Qi, I must discuss this with the Guardian of the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances, Master Wu of Mount WuDang."

Looking at his youngest apprentice, he commanded, "Liu, send our fastest pigeon with a note to Master Wu, saying, 'Master Wong of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts would like your audience concerning the prophecy of the Guardian of the Two Nines.' Hurry!"

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Naruto's Mindscape)

"Now that you've learned the postures on all the variations of all Nine Stances, you are going to practice those stances until they become automatic," stated Kyuubi. She couldn't wait for Naruto to master them so she could test their claim to invincibility.

"Hold on!" interjected the whiskered blond. "It seems like it's been forever in here. Geez! I haven't eaten or slept for how long now? Shouldn't I be allowed to rest, or at least return to the real world?"

"It's been a little over a month in mindscape world, but in the real world, you've been sleeping for a little over seven hours," answered Kyuubi.

"You know I don't think I'm strong enough to hold a sword even. You sure you want me to practice these stances?" asked the eight-year-old.

"You're as dumb as they come! How many times do I have to tell you? THIS. IS. YOUR. MINDSCAPE. Anything your puny brain imagines is possible," Kyuubi explained for the umpteenth time, letting her impatience felt.

"Sorry," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head, "so what do you want me to do, again?"

"I'm going to go easy on you at first and gradually increase my attacks," reassured the humanoid beauty. "The trick to mastering the Nine Stances is to use it against a superior opponent. The better your opponent is, the more of the Nine Stances' power you unleash."

Suddenly a live-size image of a younger version of the mesmerizing beauty appeared next to Naruto. Chibi Kyuubi was few years older and half-a-head taller than Naruto. The woman inside the cage explained, "I can only project an image in your mindscape. To give it a solid feel, you must trick your mind into believing the hologram next to you is every bit as real as you are."

As soon as Naruto nodded his head with eagerness, Chibi Kyuubi attacked.

She started with slow attacks to let Naruto get acclimated in the sword stances. Naruto was barely getting by in the beginning, and that was only because Chibi Kyuubi did not press on his weaknesses and attack when he was clearly open. The purpose of the sparring was not for Kyuubi to humiliate an eight-year old's lack of skill and experience. The purpose of the sparring was to teach, and Kyuubi knew effective training methods that teach without afflicting injury, unlike the crude humans and their terming a beating "training."

At first Chibi Kyuubi only used basic sword stances. But once Naruto got used to the idea of fighting with a sword, she soon found herself using more complex sword dances. The skilled sword girl seamlessly switched her attacks to varying stances Kyuubi encountered during her vast existence. Without using any of the **Nine Stances, **Kyuubi continued to use other advance sword arts through her materialized projection to gage Naruto's progress and the prowess of the legacy of the Lonesome Hermit.

Naruto could not be happier. The **Nine Stances **proved to be more awesome than he thought possible. The studies in human anatomy, pressure points, and the attack patterns proved to be most helpful. He was able to aptly read his opponent's intent of attack and provide counters before her attacks could be successfully completed, thus effectively thwarting her advancement and forcing her into defending his better placed sword movements.

Each variation of the **Nine Stances** changed fluidly into another. The stab toward her solar plexus changed fluidly into a swing across her throat, and then it changed again into a slicing toward her advancing sword arm. Every time the girl tried to go for an offensive move, the **Nine Stances'** quicker and deadlier offensive counters would force her into a defensive stance. Guided by Naruto's ingenuity and prankster nature, the **Nine Stances **bloomed to their full beauty. Once Naruto grasped the mechanics of the **Nine Stances**, Chibi Kyuubi was never successful in executing any offense against Naruto.

The exchanges between the two sword masters were graceful and thrilling to watch. Behind her cage, the humanoid beauty watched with a floored jaw. The fighters fell into a zone long ago, completely threw themselves into reading the moves of their opponent and adapting their stances accordingly. For the past hundred exchanges, their swords were moving at a neck-breaking speed and had yet to make contact.

"I didn't think this is possible," whispered the Kyuubi with disbelief. Finally seeing her chibi self losing, she added another hologram, this time one of her adult self, and double-teamed Naruto.

"Hey! Not fair!"

"Stop your whining," commanded the melodious voice behind bars. "In your mindscape, you are not bound by physical limitations. You can move as fast as your prankster mind can react. Use your vivid imagination. Now show me you've got what it takes to be Hokage one day."

Kyuubi continued upping her antics as she watched her charge became more apt in using the **Nine Stances**. Gradually her holograms started to add other weapons and attacks in to the challenge. She watched Naruto learned to fluidly transition between different stances.

The blond under pressure used the Sword-Conquering Stance to defeat attacks made with long slicing weapons such as swords and katanas, the Knife-Conquering Stance to defeat attacks made with short slicing weapons such as stabbing knives and tantos, the Spear-Conquering Stance to defeat attacks made with long straight weapons such as yaris and spears, the Whip-Conquering Stance to defeat slithering weapons such as whips and ninchakus, the Kick-Conquering Stance to defeat all types of leg Kung Fu, the Palm-Conquering Stance to defeat all types of bear-hand Kung Fu, and the Missile-Conquering Stance to defeat attacks made by arrows and other throwing weapons.

The last of the **Nine Stances** was the Energy-Conquering Stance and was not something Naruto could master in the mindscape. The Lonesome Hermit originally designed it to defeat opponents with highly cultivated Qi. The principle behind this stance could be modified to conquer opponents with large chakra reserves. Kyuubi would later nickname this stance as the Madara Killer. Kyuubi only taught Naruto the principle and formula of how to practice it. Even so, Naruto still would not be able to train in it until he was taught how to channel Qi and mold chakra.

Once Naruto successfully held off and simultaneously _defeated_ all five materialized fighters, Kyuubi called off all the holograms. Any more than five fighters teamed against Naruto would be pointless in an environment where one could not tire out. In the real world, sheer numbers could outlast one's opponent due to his being overcome by fatigue. However, in mindscape, numbers only increase the frequency of attacks and the number of different attack angles. Any number beyond five fighters would only get in the way of themselves.

The humanoid beauty reluctantly uttered her parting commendation, "You've mentally mastered the Nine Stances. But, in reality, you are far from its complete mastery. You'll need to return to the real world to complete your training."

Their training session had lasted two months mindscape time, or twelve hours real world time.

Overall the teacher and student could not have been better paired. Kyuubi was eager to teach, motivated by her budding maternal feelings toward her protégé and deeply-entrenched desire to strengthen her vessel to maintain her reputation and eventually to execute her revenge. Naruto was willing to learn, overjoyed to be bathing in the copious amount of attention showered by a beautiful woman. Both did not want this to end so soon.

Trying to hold back his tears, Naruto mumbled, "Will we meet again?"

"We will," reassured the motherly beauty, "I've got one more technique to teach you. I'll contact you again, but remember to train hard. You still need years of physical training for your body to move as fast as your mind thinks."

"Don't worry! I'll be Hokage one day. I won't fail!" returned a rejuvenated hyperactive shout.

"Before I let you go, I need you to reach you hand back into my cage and return the manuscript for the Nine Stances. Until you are strong enough, I'll remain its guardian." Once Kyuubi laid her hands on the manuscript, she unsuppressed her chakra and stopped channeling her Qi.

The first thing Naruto heard in the real world as he slowly regained consciousness was Asuma's question.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The father and son team had stayed up all night watching Naruto and catching up on two years of separation. As the sun rose, the aged Kage's attention was back on Naruto and the guilt lingering in the back of his mind whether he could possibly do more for him.

Seizing the opportunity on Asuma's desire to start a family, the aged ninja pounced, "You know, if you want to start a family, you could start small by practicing."

"Dad, that's disgusting! I know Jiraiya and his books are perverted, but I didn't think he would stoop so low as to …"

"Urgh! Don't you dare finish that sentence!" shouted an irate Kage. Then he calmly stated with a dead certainty, "Neither I nor my student ever stooped to the level of Orochimaru and his perversions. Every woman in the Icha Icha series is of the legal age."

"Then what do you mean by…." He did not need to finish asking the question for he already discovered his answer. Seeing his father glancing from him to the boy resting on the bed, he answered his own unfinished question with another:

"You want me to adopt Naruto?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N:** Readers and reviewers, thank you for your continued encouragement! Your taking the time to review means a world to me and makes me more eager to update. I also like to thank those who responded to my plea for advice. Your responses were duly noted and greatly appreciated. Please give them freely if I should reach out again.

I hope you like the Sarutobi interactions and the sword fight.

Thanks! And I reply to ALL reviews!

Next… **Chapter 4: Sword Training 102**


	4. Sword Training 102

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 4: Sword Training 102**

Revised – Final Version

Readers and reviewers, I'm glad you are enjoying my story so far. For those who are worried about Naruto being too powerful too quickly, fear not – the reasons that he's not really that powerful will become evident in this chapter, which I had it already named and planned out ahead of time. I also like to thank those who offered me their suggestions on what plot monotonies to avoid. While I already have the story planned out somewhat and can't always honor every suggestion, I promise to always give all of your suggestions seriously consideration.

**Disclaimer:** If I own Naruto, Kushina would have raised Naruto. I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

'_Someone wants to adopt me? Wait! He hasn't decided yet,' _thought Naruto silently to himself as he listened in to the conversation beside him.

The aged Professor was aware of the brief miniscule movement from the now awakened boy. Though his facial expression gave nothing away, he was grinning his widest inside.

'_So Naruto, you are smarter than you let on. Since you've heard my plan for getting you a family, I'll let you eavesdrop on our discussion. But you got some questions to answer regarding what happened last night.'_

"Yo Pops, you there?" asked Asuma waving his hand in front of his father's stoic face.

Ignoring him, the older Sarutobi continued as if nothing happened, "Well, what do you think?"

"You know I don't see him as Kyuubi," responded the worried Jounin as he took in two long carcinogenic puffs. "I'm worried if I'm the right man for the job. Will I be able to instill qualities to make him a man of decent character? Will I be able to help him find his own nindo? Will I be able to protect him from bigots who are blinded by hatred? I don't know if I'm ready for such a big responsibility." Asuma continued to pour out his heart as Naruto listened in and Sarutobi became preoccupied in his own thoughts.

'_Dammit Asuma! Why did you get that big mouth from your mother? Looks like I'll have to talk to Naruto about Kyuubi sooner than I planned. Naruto's handling this pretty well. In fact, no reactions from him. Even his breathing pattern gave nothing away. Either he's pretty good at eave dropping or… wait a minute … does he already know? Could last night really have been caused by the Nine-tails?' _mulled the worried Hokage._ 'Has the seal weakened?'_

Despite Asuma's slip of the tongue, the fake sleeper remained unfazed, not giving away that he was already awake. While the boy was understandably upset with them for keeping Kyuubi a secret, he already got most of the shock out of his system when the transformed humanoid revealed this to him in his mindscape. At the moment his attention was captured by Asuma's emotional speech.

For an orphan born not knowing his father, hearing the beard Jounin talk about the anxieties and emotions shared by all new fathers opened his floodgates. A few years ago, Naruto swore to himself to never shed tears again. He accepted his fate and chose to stop giving his attackers the satisfaction of seeing him cry.

Hearing Asuma talking about his feelings made Naruto wondered again what his life would had been like if he was raised in a home with loving parents. His dammed up floodgate continued to rupture onto the pillow into which his face was buried. The blond was still careful not to betray any of the typical bodily movements associated with crying. He wanted to hear more of this candid conversation.

Perhaps his dream of having a family would soon be realized.

Asuma waved his hand in his father's face again in exasperation. "Dad! I'm sharing my feelings here," sounded a frustrated son. "Don't tell me you're still thinking about Kurenai!" As he said that last sentence, he inadvertently leaked out some killer intent through his frustration.

"Keep it down Asuma," commanded the calm Kage. Of course, he had already noticed a disturbance in Naruto's emotion. "We have more pressing issues on hand … right, Naruto?"

After quickly deepening his facial burial into the pillow, wiping away his tears, the aforementioned blond turned to face them. "Heh, heh," responded the sheepish child while pretending to stuff a yarn, "so you knew I was awake?" He slowly seated himself aright and stretched as he looked at the Sandaime and his son.

"Tell us what happened last night Naruto," demanded the Commander-In-Chief with all the seriousness of a leader overwatching the safety of his village.

'_Two can play this game,'_ thought Naruto with a mental smirk, _'Let me see how I can get you to talk about my tenant first.'_

"Naruto…"

"That's what I want to know old man! Where's my dessert? How did I end up here? Why is it morning already? Hurry up with your answers! I still need to play ninja with your grandson," spewed out Naruto.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity to connect with Naruto, the naïve Jounin commenced, "Well you see … wait-a-minute … you didn't remember fainting during dinner?"

"Cut the games Naruto," commanded a stern Kage.

Ignoring the Sandaime, Naruto turned Asuma and asked, "Are you really going to adopt me? I think you'll make a great father!"

"NARUTO!" shouted the Sarutobi duo with Asuma finally caught on to Naruto's game, though he could not help being happy hearing Naruto saying that.

"Okay fine! No games. But I'll show you mine, if you show me yours first," bargained the grinning blond prankster.

Both adults looked at each other puzzled, not quite sure what to make of that remark.

…o.0.O.0.o…

On the way to Naruto's apartment, the Copy-nin Kakashi came across the commotion in front of the once bustling Uchiha compound, which now reeked of blood and death. The uneasiness he stuffed away last night after his meeting with Naruto and the Hokage came back with full vengeance.

The normally unfazed ANBU captain put away his favorite pastime reading when a subordinate reported to him Itachi's massacre of his own clan. Changing his course destination, he sped toward the Hokage tower.

At the tower, the Copy-nin was greeted by Sarutobi Hiruzen's advisors and former teammates, Homura and Koharu.

"ANBU-san, please remove your mask." - and once he did - "Oh yes, Captain Hatake, what can we do for you?"

"Actually I was looking for the Sandaime. Is he here?"

"If you are here to inform him of Itachi's massacre of the Uchiha clan, we are already aware of it. The Hokage has scheduled a town meeting this afternoon to address the village of this unfortunate incident. As of now, Itachi has been declared an S-rank missing-nin in the Bingo book. He is considered ruthless and dangerous, and you are not to go after him. If you or any of your subordinates were to encounter him, you are to report back to the Hokage for further direction. Do not play hero or attempt kill or capture. Is that understood?"

"Hai."

"Dismissed."

…o.0.O.0.o…

"Did you know my parents?"

"No. What caused you to faint?"

"I passed out after trying to see how long I can hold my breath."

. . .

"Did you know my parents?"

"I found you in a baby basket outside my office door one night…. What caused you to faint?"

"I overheard that Orochimaru is eloping with Kurenai…."

. . .

"Did you know my parents?"

"I did," said an outwitted Hokage with a deep heavy sigh. "Your parents passed away. Your father had sworn me to secrecy. I'm sorry … I want to tell you, but I promised to keep this secret until you become a Chuunin. You wouldn't want me to break a promise, right Naruto?"

"Is that the truth?" asked the determined blond. The surprised expression on Asuma's face already validated the Hokage's claim to Naruto.

"It is," reassured the Sandaime. "Please believe me when I say that they loved you very much and that they didn't abandon you."

A long pause hovered over the room. Strong conflicting emotions of relief and grief, happiness and sadness, stormed through Naruto. Silence was laced with these tense emotions while Naruto processed Sarutobi's words. Surprisingly Kyuubi was not taking note of this or trying to take advantage of the seal's momentary weakness.

The aged Professor was worried about this too. To the aged Kage's relief, Naruto finally broke silence and returned the information exchange, "I didn't faint. Kyuubi invited me to meet her and trained me in sword arts."

"WHAT!?" shouted both tobacco users.

"Huh … would you rather hear me say 'Orochimaru eloped with Kurenai'?" asked Naruto, oblivious to the import of his revelation. "By the way, who are they and why did I hear their names in my sleep?"

"Uh ... that's not important right now," replied Hiruzfen, after having quickly schooled his feature back to his commanding posture. Taking a puff from his pipe, he said, "Now, tell us what happened last night."

For the next several hours, Naruto explained in detail and answered questions regarding the events that transpired in his mindscape: Kyuubi's appearance, how Uchiha Madara tricked her into attacking Konoha, her desire to train him to become a strong 'vessel,' the legend of Lonesome Hermit, and a brief overview of the **Nine Stances**.

By the time Naruto finished recounting, the father and son duo had consumed the clan's entire sake supply.

As Naruto recounted his mental experience, the Sandaime carefully analyzed everything the blond said.

'_Did Kyuubi transform into a seductive beauty to corrupt the mind of an impressionable boy or to seduce him into liberate her? Regardless of the reason, I wish I was there to see how shapely her curves are..._

_'Wasn't Madara supposed to have been killed by the Shodaime. If the Demon Fox was going to fabricate an excuse to merely gain Naruto's trust, she would have used a more plausible person as the perpetrator. Her claim to have been tricked by Madara was too far-fetching to be ignored…._

_'I've never heard of the Lonesome Hermit. Maybe my student Jiraiya, a hermit himself, has heard of him during his travels…. Naruto's choice of words describing the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances made him sound like an experienced sword welder. His use of advanced medical terminology describing certain human anatomy further proved that Kyuubi did train Naruto, though her reasons for doing so sound too innocent to me.'_

Asuma too was having a similar mental mulling.

'_Um, a foxy beauty? I wonder how she compares to the angelic body of Kurenai. Dammit! I'm not a pervert. Gotta keep focused…._

_'Madara? Isn't he the founder of the Uchiha clan? I'll asked Dad later…._

_'An invincible hermit? Sounds like a tall tale to me…. Nine stances only? Ha! I bet my nephew can make up more stances in his sleep…. Now back to the foxy beauty. I bet Lady Kyuubi is a feisty one!'_

The twenty-three year old Sarutobi was very easy for his friends to characterize. A chain smoker, yes. A procrastinating slacker, yes. But a pervert? Well … yes, but very few knew him as such. In fact, even fewer knew the real reason he left in a training mission was related to the 'accident' with his female teammate Kurenai.

- Flashback –

That 'accident' happened one night as Asuma was returning home from a bachelors party with Kakashi. As they passed Konoha's premiere hot spring, they overheard Konoha's three most desirable kunoichis Kurenai, Anko, and Yuugao discussing which men they would like to bed. Curiosity and inebriation got the better of them as they dared each other into henging as civilian women and entering the bath house.

Their plan was to put in few good words for themselves and better their chances in scoring a date with one of the Ice Queen Trio of Konoha. As their henged selves joined the kunoichis in the water, the silver-haired nervous drunk slipped on a wet rock and bumped Asuma in the back.

At the time, Asuma was struggling to maintain eye contact while talking to Kurenai and Anko. Talking to the curvy genjutsu specialist and the exotic snake mistress without getting caught eye-feasting on their heavenly naked bodies was quite a struggle. His quickened heart-beats and his inebriation added to the difficulties of maintaining his henge.

The bump from Kakashi pushed Asuma into a full frontal embrace with Kurenai.

Since Kakashi and Asuma used mere henges, the anatomical differences between the two hugging nudes became immediately detectable upon contact. In effort to separate himself from the awkward but pleasant position and escape with Kakashi before the three notorious pervert bashers caught on to their act or dispelled their henges, the bearded drunk accidentally grabbed one of Kurenai's soft ample frontal mounds and batted an extended part of his lower body against the silky slender leg of the sadistic snake mistress.

That was a dead giveaway that one of the new arrivals was a male under henge. Actually, Kurenai detected that both were under henge.

Before Kurenai dispelled their henges, Kakashi quickly performed a Kawarimi no Jutsu, switching their bodies with logs, for their escape.

"Get out of here you sick freaks!" shouted Kurenai behind their shrinking silhouettes, though she secretly enjoyed their accidental hug. The drunken perverts were both very fortunate that to this day, none of the Konoha's top three pervert bashers knew it was them that day.

What the escaping duo missed, and the Hokage caught in his crystal ball surveillance, was Anko's words to the other two kunoichis after they escaped. "Damn! Is that what I think it is that banged against my leg? We definitely have to add whoever he is to our 'To Bed' list."

- End Flashback –

Since that event, Asuma was unable to look at his female teammate the same way again. Perverted images of her and Anko invaded his dreams. Soon, his uneasiness drove rifts in team dynamics and jeopardized the team's mission completions.

When Asuma saw an opportunity to take on a long solo mission away from the village, he jumped, only to return two years later. His perverted dreams of the two kunoichis had lessened in frequency, but then again, he had not seen either of them in a long time.

While Asuma was reminiscing, Naruto concluded recapping the events in his mindscape by saying, "And I have been taught the old hermit's Nine Stances."

"What do you mean?" asked Asuma. "I bet it was just a good dream you had. And the Kyuubi as a beautiful woman? Didn't you know that she killed off half of the village's ninja, including the Fourth Hokage? And besides, aren't you a little too young to be looking at woman like that?"

"Hey, she may have killed a lot of people, but it's not her fault. Didn't you hear me? She was tricked," defended the blond.

"I don't believe you," Asuma taunted.

"Fine! I'll show you!" the blond shouted back as he kicked off his coverings and jumped out of bed.

Without the calmness and mental clarity that Yang afforded him in his mindscape, the whiskered blond was left with a mind and all the unrestrained emotions of an eight-year-old deprived of affection or acknowledgement. He easily let his emotions get the best of him.

Granted, his mind had undergone dramatic upgrades from spending time learning and answering questions from the Nine-tailed fox. He had spent an equivalent of two months time with a bijuu many times smarter than he, discussing the Kung Fu of sword art and pressure points, going through analogies explaining complex ideas into everyday language.

Still, deep down, he was an orphaned boy desperately wanting to show off and seek attention; thus, he was eager to show off.

"Confident now, aren't we?" continued Asuma with a taunting smirk. "Can't wait to get your first beating from your adoptive father before my dad finalizes the papers?"

"So you're really going to adopt me?" asked the hopeful blond with glistering reflective cerulean blue eyes.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto was quite frustrated with himself right now. He and Asuma had just begun sparring using wooden sticks as swords. They were doing touch-only sparring. No jutsus or chakra-enhancing blows were allowed. The spiky-haired blond had started this sparring fully confident of his victory. However he soon discovered himself issuing commands his arms and legs couldn't execute.

'_My arms and legs are not strong or fast enough to execute all the right counter moves. I bet they think I made the whole thing up.'_

At this moment Naruto stepped into Asuma's offense few inches from his chest. He wanted to thrust the wooden stick upward toward Asuma's heart, but Asuma landed a faster palm strike on Naruto's chest, knocking him backwards.

'_If this was in my mindscape, my sword would have been waiting for his incoming palm and injuring his hand. He wouldn't have a counter for it as he wouldn't be able to retreat in time. Instead of an easy victory, I'm sitting on my rear and holding my chest in pain. I wonder what Kyuubi would think seeing how I can't even land a strike against Asuma.'_

Inside the sealed cage, in the center of Naruto's mindscape labyrinth, laid the snoring Nine-tailed Demon Fox in her full bestial glory. Kyuubi at the moment was in deep slumber. Suppressing her demonic chakra within herself and compressing her gargantuan size into a small-framed humanoid for an equivalence of two months tired even the most powerful of the tailed beasts. In addition to the energy used to constrict herself, she had to use triple that amount to channel Qi for that long duration.

She would need two months, or twelve real-world hours, to recover from her exhaustion.

Asuma was beside himself. A part of him wanted to be proud of his soon-to-be adopted son in showing a few brilliant moves while sparring, but another part wanted to beat the disrespect out of this boisterous child.

He knew Naruto's disrespect was his way of crying out for attention, seeking acknowledgement. The bearded Jounin could not and would not fault the lonely orphan for that. If he was to be honest with himself, the energetically loud and rambunctious voice of the blond grew on him; though, it still rubbed him the wrong way.

Focusing his thoughts back to the one-sided spar, Asuma concluded to himself, _'This kid's sword movements are too good to be random lucky swings. Each stab and thrust is the perfect counter of my move, though I'm faster. But if he has my speed and strength, I won't have lasted three seconds with him. Give him ten years to grow and train, and there won't be many who can put up a challenge against him.'_

Pausing a moment, the bearded combatant asked himself, _'How is this possible? It must be true that Kyuubi trained him in his mindscape. But why would a bloodlusting demon do so? Could it simply be so that Naruto could carry out her revenge against Madara?'_

Sarutobi watched on with all the decorum of a Kage. His experienced body trained in self discipline betrayed nothing of the pot of emotions inside him. Of course he was amused and even fascinated by this unknown sword art. True, Naruto was losing quite miserably, but the lethal efficiency of the Nine Stances was still evident, even in his dismal application of them.

More pressingly, however, Sarutobi was shaking with fright at the dire implications of Kyuubi communicating with her vessel. As the Hokage, he would use the self-sacrificing Shinigami seal if necessary, but could his conscience bare the weighty guilt of sealing the demon in another child who would no doubt experience the same village treatment Naruto received? How could he claim the unfortunate newborn from its parents and make it into a jinchuuriki?

Surly no one who knew how Naruto was treated would willingly offer their child for this; not even Minato, should he be given a second chance.

Despite knowing the overwhelming odds against him winning this sparring match, Naruto's fighting spirit did not waver. He remembered the beautiful humanoid's words, _"The trick to mastering the Nine Stances is to use it against a superior opponent. The better your opponent is, the more of the Nine Stances' power you unleash."_

Naruto dug deep within the strength of his character and the essence of his yet unknown heritage.

After his training with Kyuubi and his vow to avenge for his tenant, he resolved to not give up any more. No longer would he run away from mobs. No longer would he plead for mercy in the hands of his opponents. No longer would he be weak. Suddenly, the real-time equivalent of two months of memory he acquired in his mindscape flashed before his eyes.

- Flashback –

"Oh yeah? I'll prove you wrong! I won't fail because I'm going to be the Hokage one day and get the village to respect me just like they do the old man," announced Naruto with a fierce determined stare.

"Fine. I'll let you try," said the caged beauty with a feigned nonchalance. She opened the manuscript and read, "The Swordsman's Four Decrees: A swordsman is his sword. A sword is its wielder. A swordsman and his sword are one. A swordsman and his sword are none."

. . .

"You've got to learn about the theories of sword art first. No matter how you practice sword stances in your mindscape, you still can't condition your physical body. What I can teach you in here is the theory of sword art. To finish your training, you'll need to practice like hell once you return to the real world."

"Well, hurry up with your theories! I want to go back and train hard so no one will look down on me again!" declared the boy with a renewed determination beaming through his cerulean blue eyes.

. . .

The beautiful caged humanoid continued, "There are two types of sword masters: Those who carry a sword and those who don't. Sword carriers _weld_ their swords like weapons, or tools in combat. The non-carriers _move_ their swords like they move their arms or legs. Sword masters of the highest caliber do not _carry _their swords; they _wear _them like they wear their shoes. Their swords are part of their persons and extension of their beings."

"So that's what 'being one with the sword' means. What about the first two of the four Decrees: how I can be the sword and how the sword can be me?" asked Naruto.

"You'll learn to feel that way when you physically train with your sword in the real world," answered the faux beauty. "Oneness with the sword will get you far, but to be truly as great as the Lonesome Hermit, the last of his decrees says you and your sword must become _none_ or invisible," continued her lecture.

. . .

After answering several rounds of Kyuubi's probing questions, Naruto concluded, "So the highest form of sword art is to become none; in other words, to do it without using any stances."

"That's correct." Kyuubi lectured, "Any layman can pick up a sword and swing wildly to give most of the experienced sword masters a hard time because the layman doesn't use any stances that a sword master would recognize to counter. A layman's sword swings are irrational and unpredictable and thus has the initial upper hand against a trained opponent. But swings of a layman are soon defeated because they lack variations and done without strategic purpose. However, imagine if those wild swings have countless variations and are well-placed against the opponent, aimed at any part of his body when injured could end his life. Not only would the opponent be forced to only defend once the wild swings start, he would eventually be defeated."

. . .

"Just so you know… The Four Decrees work equally effective in all areas of martial arts and jutsus," continued Kyuubi. "In a battle, any ninja can be defeated if you know ahead of time what jutsus they use and how to counter them. You'll become difficult to defeat, almost impossible, if you constantly remain unpredictable and use jutsus that are lethal and powerful enough to force your opponent to always be on the defense."

- End Flashback –

With a renewed determination, the eight-year-old boy tightened his sword grip and swung his sword, arching down and around in full circle, back to be joined in full grip with his other hand.

With both hands, Naruto held the sword in front in anticipation. He called out, "Asuma, I know you can beat me because my body is not strong or fast enough to effectively use the moves of the Nine Stances. So instead of continuing this pointless spar, why didn't you use this opportunity to train me instead, like Kyuubi-sensei did when she sparred with me?"

Asuma was taken aback by Naruto's assertive request. However, he was not given an opportunity to respond.

"Naruto, hold that thought! The three of us need to sit down and talk some more," interrupted the aged Kage, "but right now we have an important village meeting to attend to. You might want to come along."

"What's this about Dad?" asked his not-even-winded son.

"We have a village-wide Town Hall Meeting scheduled," answered the Hokage with an emotionless expression, "There's an important announcement I have to make."

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Elsewhere)

Sitting in the lotus position with his trusty sword resting by his right side, the skilled sword master slowly sipped his tea. Surrounding him were the calligraphy of the kanji for four cornerstones of the WuXia community written onto each of the walls: Justice, Loyalty, Truth, and Honor. On each of the walls hung 40 lit candles, separated equally into four rows. A total of 160 candles lit the room and acted as its only light source.

He finished his tea and set his cup down. With both hands, he grabbed the cloth before him on the table and tied it around his head, across his eyes, blindfolded himself in the process.

His right hand grabbed his sword as he leapt into action from his sitting lotus. As his body twisted in midair in the direction of his legs uncrossing from their lotus, he unsheathed his sword and swung it around the room at the candles lined up against the four walls, enhancing the execution and extending the reach of his movement with Qi. The sword traveled through air, pointed to every candle in the room, and extinguished every one of them just as quickly. Four complete revolutions later, he landed back into a sitting lotus on the spot where he had been before his performance. The room went dark, save the single flame on the tip of his sword.

With another leap into the air, twisting in the direction opposite of his last, he used the same sword technique and relit each candle, all 160 of them, re-sheathed his sword, and landed back into a sitting lotus.

One hundred sixty candles this time. That was forty more than what he was able to do a year ago. Eventually he hoped to be able to handle two hundred candles with this move, all while extinguishing and re-igniting them all during one leap.

Sensing one of his disciples' footsteps approaching, he removed his blindfold and leapt into the air and landed in a crouching position, upside-down on the ceiling, using chakra to hold his place. When his disciple entered into his room with the goal of handing him an important message from Master Wong and met disappointment, Wu snickered silently at the boy's plight. Frustrated, the boy left his master's room, hastily going to the next. Master Wu landed on the ground silently and followed him.

_'This will be so much fun to steal that message from him and then threaten to discipline him for losing such an important document.'_

Stealing the message from his disciple was not hard. In his prankster mind, it was as easy as stealing candy from a baby. Wu, with the message scroll now in hand, let the unfortunate disciple continue his search. He read, "Master Wong of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts would like your audience concerning the prophecy of the Guardian of the Two Nines."

_'Guardian of the Two Nines!?'_

Wu, the guardian for one of the two Nines, the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances, was the Headmaster of WuDang. Surprisingly, WuDang was a school of martial arts with no background history with the Nine Stances. Instead, the school focused on Kung Fu derived from Nine Yangs of Qi, which its founder Zhang San-Feng was highly influenced by. Zhang San-Feng was the legendary Kung Fu master who invented the world-renown Tai Chi methods of cultivating Qi, overcoming tough opponents with gentle techniques, and wielding the sword with nearly no defensive weaknesses.

Though Wu had become the guardian for the famed sword technique, the Nine Stances, he was more of a fist fighter than a sword fighter. Wu became a direct disciple of the late and then aged Zhang, and his fighting style was greatly influenced by him.

How Wu came to be the Guardian of the Nine Stances was a tall-tale in itself. For the longest time everyone in the WuXia community expected Master Wong of the Monastery, who was already the Guardian of the Nine Yangs by then, to become a dual guardian to the Nine Stances, ergo, the long-awaited Guardian of the Two Nines. Partly due to Wong's noble and benevolent character, partly due to how many schools of martial arts owed Wong favors or were recipients of his kindness, and partly due to Wong's own unmatched Kung Fu skills, very few dared to challenge him for the guardianship of either Nine.

One notable challenger was a ninja known as the Masked Shadow. Their battle was one for the history. Kung Fu verses ninjutsu. Qi verses chakra. Skills verses bloodline limit. Nine Yangs verses the Sharingan. Wong and the Masked Shadow battled evenly nonstop for three days and three nights. In the end, Wong's self-replenishing Qi outlasted his opponent's supply of chakra. Masked Shadow fled before Wong dealt him the finishing blow. They had not met again since then.

Despite everyone's urging for Wong to fulfill the prophecy, Wong himself never wanted the dual guardianship. It was not in his character to be greedy or power hungry. However, to fulfill his honorable duty, he would have accepted the position should the manuscript for the Nine Stances chose him for the position, but alas, that was not meant to be. Wong was very happy when he detected the manuscript's aura gravitated toward Wu, and in essence chosing him to be its Guardian.

Wu's chanced meeting with the manuscript was all due to a prank – the first and only, so far, in the history of the Monastery – he was trying to pull on the monks during his one time visit with his master Zhang San-Feng. He later found out from reading the manuscript that the previous guardians of the Nine Stances, including their creator the Lonesome Hermit, were all pranksters at heart. To learn the Nine Stances, one _must_ be a prankster at heart. Nine Stances played off the creativity of their user and the user's ability to read and react to the opponent's _anticipated_ movement. Thus, Wu was the ideal candidate as the Guardian of the Nine Stances, whereas Wong was not.

It had been a while since the last time the two masters met.

_'Hehehe, that means I get to see Wong again. His monks and he need to loosen up a bit. Another prank is in order, and I have plenty of time to think of a good one, too. But first thing's first …'_

The urgency of Wong's message told him that it was time to get serious. Wu's fun-seeking spirit was slightly dampened by the fact that his prank would have to be somewhat abridged from what he had originally planned. He called out to his disciple, "Chen, I'm right here."

Startled, but very relieved to have found his master, he snapped his head towards the direction of Wu's voice.

"I see that you have a message scroll from Master Wong of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts." Wu said with a straight face while pointing to the small fake scroll that he had used to switch with the real one. "Let's head back to the Great Hall where all disciples must be gathering. You'll get the honor of reading its content aloud."

Seeing a genuine smile on Chen's face along with a sincere thankful nod, Wu almost felt bad continuing his prank. _Almost._

In the Great Hall, the disciples of the WuDang School gathered in anticipation of an announcement of great importance. They had all been made aware by the receiver of the pigeon that the bird carrier was the faster one of the Monastery and that meant an urgent message from Master Wong to Master Wu.

Quite a few of the WuDang disciples were friends with a few of the Monastery monks. By the look on their faces, one could tell that they were worried for the safety and well being of their comrades. Those who had no acquaintances in the Monastery were worried for another reason – if a powerful enough threat existed that could cause alarm for their allies in the Monastery, then the threat must be a formidable one that they too would need to be on guard against.

All the disciples were relieved to see their master enter the Great Hall with their fellow apprentice brother, Chen, in tow.

"Since many of you are aware that we've received an urgent message from Master Wong, let's have the message read by our very own and the newest addition to our school, Apprentice Chen."

Some of the senior apprentices silently snickered when they heard the playful tone in their master's introduction. They put on their best straight face while eagerly anticipating the prank their master had in store for Chen.

Throat clearing …

"I, Master Wong, have sensed through my overabundant Qi that a chronic bed-wetter recently enrolled in your school."

… a brief pause and an audible gulp …

"Please be advised that you'll need to have extra fresh sheeting on hand."

… some snickers in the background …

"You'll probably want to keep this message a secret so your enemies won't use this weakness of his in combat."

Those who snickered were struggling to hold in their laughter.

"Master Wu," Chen the new addition into the WuDang school said with a naive worrisome face, "I'm sorry my weak bladder worried you and Master Wong."

Soon all the students completely lost control and burst into laughter.

Even Wu himself gave in to laughter as well. Soon, his laughter would fade though when he would have to explain to his students what the real message said and why he would be visiting the Monastery for a month. However, right now he treasured these moments of innocence when his disciples could still be kids, not having to worry about the bad guys in the horizon.

**A/N:** What do you think of this chapter?

Who do you think is really to blame for the Uchiha Massacre?

What would you say if I made Sarutobi responsible for all of it – including the death of civilians living and children in Uchiha compound? – keep in mind that was manga Madara's unverified declaration to Sasuke.

Thanks! And I reply to ALL reviews!

Next…. **Chapter 5: Truth of the Uchiha Massacre!**


	5. Truth of the Uchiha Massacre!

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 5: Truth of the Uchiha Massacre!**

Revised – Final Version

**Disclaimer:** You wish I own Naruto, dontcha? Well, I don't. I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

As the Sarutobis exited the doors of the clan compound, Naruto spotted his guardian ANBU leaning against a tree, reading a book with an orange cover.

'_Wow, someone who has the same passion for orange as I do. I wonder if it has any good bedtime stories. Maybe I can get Asuma to read it to me as my first bedtime story,'_ thought the naïve blond, showing one of his rare genuine smiles. He called out, "Doggy-san! What are you reading? Any good stories in that little orange book?"

A huge sweat drop appeared next to the Copy Nin's face mask. _'Yeah … but you're too young.'_

As the female members of the Sarutobi clan began advancing on the re-installed ANBU captain, cracking their knuckles, promising the dog-masked nin pain for publically displaying adult literature, the Sandaime saved Kakashi from further embarrassment by telling the women, "Hurry and follow me. We don't have time."

Then, with an amused grin, eyes glancing at Kakashi, the Sandaime added, "You too, Doggy-san."

Seeing how his old friend's embarrassment deepened, Asuma let out the laughter he could no longer restrain.

"Good to see you too, Chimney-san," greeted Kakashi, using a nickname he coined for a smoker of an old friend.

"Chimney-san sounds too formal. Dad, would it be alright if I call you Chimchim-san instead?" suggested Naruto a little _too_ innocently. Konohamaru, who was walking next to the orange-clad boy, snickered.

"Naruto, don't you dare!"

The Copy Nin turned to Asuma, arching his eyebrows behind his ANBU mask, and asked, "Dad?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

In an undisclosed location, an orange-masked traveler and his short follower entered an underground cave lit by torches protruding from rocky wall orifices. A stoic man with spiky hair and large randomly-scattered piercings and his beautiful but otherwise emotionless female companion greeted them.

"So, Madara, I gather the mission was a success," said the waiting male as the two approached him.

"Yes, Pein, and I've brought along a new member, Uchiha Itachi," replied Madara.

"Did you find those two manuscripts?" asked the female stranger.

"No, Konan," was the older Uchiha's only reply. Their exchange caught the attention of the younger Uchiha.

Meanwhile Itachi examined the two strangers with his activated Sharingan.

From Konan's attire, postures, and choice of weapon, or the lack thereof, the jet-black-haired teen concluded that the kunoichi was not there to contribute to the secret organization's combat prowess. Her specialties were either in tracking or surveillance.

While it was difficult to detect her true skills based solely on first impression, the former captain of the Leaf ANBU was confident of his assessment of her.

Itachi's opinion of the spiky-haired blond, however, was very different. He could sense Pein's strong chakra signature and concluded that he was definitely a combatant powerhouse. His body piercings could be related to his jutsu specialties or his combat skills.

As the teen prodigy continued his silent assessment of the male's seemingly random piercings, his spinning-tomoed eyes eventually locked gazes with the commanding blond's swirl-blazing eyes.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Preparations for the meeting took longer than Sarutobi had anticipated. Rampant rumors speculating what happened to the Uchihas the previous night only complicated matters.

It took a lot of convincing from the Hokage and his two personal advisors to reassure several prominent clans that proper security measures would be taken and that their safety was guaranteed.

Their demands to increase village security were reasonable as many were afraid that the Uchihas had been wiped out by enemies from the last Great Ninja War. The Naras made logical arguments that the ones responsible for the Uchiha Massacre could take advantage of a town gathering and attack when Konoha was at her most vulnerable.

Even if Sarutobi was doing in what he thought was for appearance sake, he understood the importance of allaying fears and reviving village morale.

As the Sandaime issued orders from behind his desk, Asuma and Naruto sat in his office while the rest of the clan members waited for the announcement in the village courtyard, along with rest of the village.

The aged Kage wanted Asuma there to get him re-acclimated to ninja business after his two year departure. Naruto was there to get a preview of what it would be like to be Hokage, should he still want the job when he reached the required age and skill level.

The tag-along duo sat silently in the Hokage's office, each occupied in his own thoughts. Naruto's view of the Commander-in-Chief, whom he affectionately dubbed, "Old Man," went up a couple of notches that evening. The impressionable child watched how the Sandaime interacted with his subordinates, issued commands to the ninjas filling the room what their assignments were and how they were to respond to suspicious activities, and reassured clan-heads and other villagers that no harm would befall them when they attended this village-wide meeting. Each and every one of the villagers respected their Kage and entrusted their present safety and future outlook to him.

Naruto, for the first time since he started announcing he wanted to be Hokage, truly could think of doing nothing better than becoming the Kage of Konoha. Reflecting on his own shortcomings, his mixed feelings for the village that was both his home and hell, and how the villagers viewed him, he realized what an arduous journey he had ahead of him.

Asuma's feelings toward his father were more complex. He recalled his mixed reaction as a child when he found out his father was appointed as the Hokage. A part of him was proud of his father for achieving what few could. For a while, Asuma basked in glory of his father's name on the streets and among his friends; even his senseis gave him preferential treatment as the son of the Hokage.

Soon however, these courtesies became stale and alienated his friends from him. The then-lonely teenager wanted and needed his father, but had to share him with frequent and important meetings and the daily demands of running a hidden village.

Just when relief came in the form of the Yondaime, it was quickly stolen away by the Kyuubi attack.

As he reflected on how immature he had been, the twenty-three-year-old now looked sadly at his aged father and carefully examined him and remembered his every detail: every facial line, every strand of gray hair, every expression, and every gesture.

Who was to say how much longer his father would live on? Who knew when he too would have to sacrifice his life to protect the village?

A life of a ninja, especially a Kage, could be a sacrificially tragic one.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The courtyard before the Hokage tower was the most crowded as it had ever been. Every citizen of the Hidden Village of the Leaf was told to gather here for an important announcement from the Hokage. Normally, most families, civilian and ninja alike, would send representatives to attend the typical village-wide meetings on their behalf. However, this afternoon was different.

By now everyone had heard the rumors about the Uchiha clan.

Mystery, fear, and uncertainty saturated the atmosphere as they pondered what was to happen to Konoha now that one of the most powerful clans was wiped out, save one survivor.

Sarutobi stood on the balcony of the Hokage tower, overlooking Konoha and her people gathered together in the great courtyard below. Borrowing a line from a great orator, the wizened Hokage stretched out his arms and began his speech.

"Friends, Konohans, and countrymen, lend me your ears…."

Asuma, Naruto, and several close associates of the Hokage remained there while the rest of Konoha listened attentively as their leader and protector explained to them the tragedy that was the Uchiha Massacre.

"Sometime last night, Uchiha Itachi killed every single ninja and civilian of the Uchiha clan, save one, his younger brother, an eight-year-old boy named Uchiha Sasuke. As unfortunate as it is to learn of the death of your parents and relatives, Sasuke also found the slain bodies of family and relatives. He is currently recovering from psychiatric trauma at the hospital."

After a brief pausing for some sympathetic mutters from the crowd, the Sandaime continued.

"As of now, Uchiha Itachi is listed as an S-rank missing-nin; however, with the Uchihas killed, our ninja force was greatly reduced; and we cannot send any hunter-nins after him.

"Even though we do not know conclusively why he did what he did, we found several disturbing mental degradations starting last year when he entered ANBU service at a tender age of twelve. We believe that those mental volatilities resulted from too much exposure to the harsh reality of ninja and ANBU at too young an age. To prevent this from happening again, we'll be revising the ninja academy and institute minimum age requirements for each rank advancement.

"Effective immediately, the Konoha Police force, formerly manned by the Uchiha clan, will be permanently dissolved. The daily safety of the village will now be part of the combined efforts of ANBU and Jounins. We will also be expending ANBU reserves to meet these new demands, while relocating normally ANBU missions to Jounin and Chuunin teams.

"I can assure you that under my leadership as the Hokage of our Hidden Village of the Leaf, the safety of our village will not be compromised, our prosperity…."

…o.0.O.0.o…

Sarutobi Hizuren was sitting in a council meeting with the heads of the major clans in Konoha. The Town Hall meeting had gone better than anticipated. The Sandaime's public announcement went a long way toward restoring the villagers' confidence and morale. Konoha would live on.

Hizuren had dismissed Naruto and Asuma shortly afterward in anticipation of the Clan Heads exercising their right to call a council meeting. He would have to talk to the newly adopted father and son tomorrow.

The guilty feeling of neglecting Asuma in lieu of fulfilling Kage duties returned from its two year absence to weigh heavily on his heart.

"Hokage-sama and the honorable council advisors, thank you for taking time from your busy day to meet with us, the Clan Heads of Konoha," repeated Hyuuga Hiashi the standard meeting opener by rote.

"Yes, Hiashi-san. It is our pleasure and duty to meet with you and work together to insure the continued safety and prosperity of the Sovereignty of our Hidden Village," returned Sarutobi the mandatory formalities.

Two items were on the docket that night: Uchiha Sasuke and the reallocation of duties from the extinct Konoha Police to the ANBUs and Jounins.

What to do with the Uchiha survivor was difficult to decide. The difficulty laid not in a lack of viable solutions, but rather in how to choose the best solution that everyone could agree with from a plethora of suggestions.

Hiashi argued that the Uchiha clan came from a branch of the Hyuugas to begin with, and as the only remaining clan with a dojutsu, his clan was the ideal choice to adopt the surviving Uchiha.

"How can anyone verify your claim of Uchihas' origin?" argued Danzou. "According to the now deceased Uchiha Clan Head, their historical scrolls made no statement to such origin."

Smiling at how other clan heads agreed with his reasoning, he moved in for what he thought would be best for Konoha. "Hiashi-san, why don't you make public the Hyuuga's historical scrolls? If you are so bold as to claim the Uchihas as an offshoot of Hyuuga Branch Members, surely the rest of the village would want to see proof."

"Hmph!" was Hiashi's grunted response.

Then the war hawk proposed his own sound suggestion. "Why don't we place the Uchiha in my ROOT program. His Sharingan is too valuable a tool for Konoha not to develop it to its full potential. My training program will make him Konoha's ultimate weapon without the downfall of the emotional volatility."

The Hokage quickly answered, "No. Doing so would only produce another Itachi."

"But Hokage-sama, that's not even …" _true_ was what Danzou wanted to finish the statement with.

"NO! And that's final!" shouted Sarutobi before Danzou could let that slip out of his mouth.

The Nara clan head quirked his right eyebrow at the Hokage's uncharacteristic outburst, but made no comment.

Then the Sandaime calmly volunteered his reason. "His mind is too fragile right now. I'm afraid he'll grow up bent on being an avenger. Giving him power at such a young age when he hasn't come to terms with his hatred would only lead to his downfall."

"Hokage-sama, if you are worried about Sasuke's fragile psyche and his dark mental outlook, my clan would be the best choice for him," offered the Inuzuka Clan Head. "Our clan's affiliation with dogs as lifelong companions and teammates fosters the perfect environment to insure a healthy mental outlook for the already mentally fragmented eight-year-old. Also, my son Kiba, who's Sasuke's age, would be perfect as a friend and playmate."

Hizuren nodded. "Tsume-san, I think we can all agree that it would be the best interest of the boy to be adopted into a stable and structured family life. Historical lineage aside, I don't think that putting him as a Branch Member to the Hyuuga clan would be in his best interest. I think the council's acceptance of your generous offer would prove to be in the best interest of mending the surviving Uchiha's mental volatility while providing him a structured family life and the core value of friendship and teamwork."

"That sounds all noble and good," grumbled Hiashi, "but who's to say that Tsume or any of the potential foster family wasn't doing this so they can breed the Sharingan or use it to enhance their own bloodline limit?"

"How dare you to imply wrong motives in my kind gesture!" shouted Tsume.

Concealing his eyes behind shades, Aburame Shibi concurred, "Hiashi's fears are grounded on the logical analysis of how greed can taint even the purest of intentions. I move that whichever clan ends up adopting the Uchiha child cannot arrange a marriage between the child and anyone in the adoptive clan."

After agreeing to Aburame's stipulations, the voting went around the room. Danzou and Tsume were the only two willing to take Sasuke into their care.

Sighing, Nara Shikaku declared, "This discussion is pointless. It doesn't matter how we all think would be in the best interest of the boy; shouldn't he have a say? I mean, we're not talking about an infant without preconceived notions of likes and dislikes. This is an eight-year old, and one already with a shattered psyche. Forcing him into a decision he ends up not liking could do more harm than good."

Danzou pounced on another opportunity to recruit the last Uchiha into his ROOT and said, "I think Nara-san makes a valid point. We should give Sasuke choices."

Sighing at not being able to do much more than that for Itachi's little brother, Hizuren finally approved the council's decision and facilitated the meeting to the next item on the docket.

…o.0.O.0.o…

To Danzou's chagrin, the Sandaime had proven once again that he was worth his weight in gold. A charismatic leader, a motivating orator, a seasoned politician, and a capable meeting facilitator. Despite how the crippled war hawk frequently disagreed with Sarutobi's policies of peace over war, the ROOT Leader knew his old rival was the better choice as the Hokage … for now. After the Council Meeting ended, Danzou remained in the meeting room with Sarutobi and his other two personal advisors.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura were former Genin teammates of the Sandaime under their Jounin sensei, the late Nidaime Hokage. Their years of working closely with Hizuren made them the Hokage's most trusted advisors. Often, like earlier today when they received Kakashi in the Hokage's office, they had the Sandaime's authorization as acting Kage in his absence or in the event of his becoming unavailable to serve. Many times during meetings, the Sandaime would sit back and observe while his two former teammates acted as his mouthpieces. Koharu often made no secret of her emotions, while Homura's legal mind was pensive and collected.

As Hizuren waved goodbye to the last departing clan heads, he reflected on the overall success of the meeting.

True, the Uchiha adoption issue did not go exactly how he would have wanted, but it was as good a conclusion as he was going to get from the council. Because of fearing a repeat of creating another Itachi, the council gave the Sandaime unanimous support for implementing the needed changes to the Ninja Academy. The last item Hizuren sprung on the council was his announcing Asuma's adoption of Naruto. Danzou's was the sole objection, citing Naruto as another viable candidate for his ROOT training. By then, everyone was tired from a long day of dealing with issues first within their own clans and then with the already long-into-the-night meeting. Wanting to conclude the meeting, clan heads overrode Danzou's protest and acknowledged Asuma's adoption without incident.

As the Hokage finished his musing on the previous meeting, he returned his attention to his three advisors.

After the Hokage opened the Advisor Meeting with his perfunctory remarks, he directed his attention toward Danzou, "Tell us about Itachi's mission last night."

"Itachi killed those responsible for the treasonous crimes of planning and attempting to execute a coup against Konoha," summarized Danzou. "The Uchihas' plan to kill the clan heads and take over the council was thwarted. The village safety was maintained, and chaos avoided. Overall, Itachi's mission was a success."

"But why did Itachi have to kill the civilians too?" complained Homura. "We thought you said that the innocent would be spared."

"The only ones that we could definitively classify as innocent were those children not yet old enough to graduate from the Ninja Academy," explained Danzou. "Unfortunately, Uchiha Sasuke was the only person to fit that category. All others, ninja or civilians alike, were likely to have heard of the coup or were guilty of these treasonous acts. We just couldn't take any chances of leaving someone alive to plant the same treasonous thoughts into the impressionable mind of our sole surviving and innocent Uchiha."

"But again, that wasn't what we four had agreed upon," retorted Koharu, letting her emotion erupt into her remark.

Finally breaking his silence, Sarutobi quietly said, "But it didn't have to be this way. Inoichi, though unaware of our reasons, was willing to perform mind erasing jutsus. Tell us, who gave you the idea that it would have been better to kill the civilians?"

Maintaining his composure without compromising his inward nervousness to the three, Danzou uttered, "About a month ago when we assigned Itachi this mission, I sent out six of my best ROOT agents to look for a missing-nin known as the Masked Shadow."

"Are you telling us that you went behind our backs and hired a missing-nin to assist Itachi?" asked Homura.

"At the time I had my doubts about whether Itachi was the best choice for this mission; whether he, though a very accomplished thirteen-year-old prodigy, was willing to choose village over family and kill his parents and relatives," explained Danzou. "This was too important to the welfare of our village to leave things to chance."

"So you ended up hiring _him_!?" exclaimed Koharu. "How were you able to find him? I've heard he can't be found if he doesn't want to be."

"That rumor proved true," explained Danzou. "I didn't, or rather, my ROOT agents didn't find him; he found them."

"How did they verify this was the Masked Shadow?" inquired Homura.

"That was the question posed by the squad leader," replied the war hawk. "The Masked Shadow's answer was a demonstration where he swiftly killed the other five ROOT nins and then told the squad leader to give me a message to meet with him here on the red bridge overlooking the river, where Genin teams meet for the morning."

"WHAT?! That S-ranked missing-nin was in Konoha?" shouted Koharu. Unlike her male counterparts, she had long since lost her composure in this meeting.

"Tell us about meeting with the Masked Shadow," commanded the Sandaime.

Danzou recounted …

- Flashback –

The day before their appointed meeting time, the crippled veteran stationed several of his ROOT agents in strategic positions around the red bridge and up and down the river bed. No, Danzou was not afraid of his own safety. Having received his crippling wound at a very young age when he fought in the Second Great Ninja War, the experienced warrior was willing to put his life on the line for his village.

His precautions were to prevent this S-ranked missing-nin from endangering any Konoha citizen while he was temporarily allowed in the village.

At the appointed hour Danzou arrived at the red bridge to find the S-ranked Masked Shadow already waiting for him. Without turning to face the crippled war hawk, the mercenary-for-hire spoke through his orange mask, "You must be Danzou." It was not as much a question as it was a statement.

"Since I don't sense my subordinates nearby, you must have already taken care of them," reasoned the old veteran. "No doubt you've already found out what mission we are willing to hire you for and its compensation."

"I'll do the mission, but you'll not need to pay me," volunteered the masked nin. "I'll find my compensation in the Uchiha compound. But I have two stipulations … I get to kill all the Uchihas and take Itachi with me when we're done. He'll be labeled as a missin- nin anyway. At least with me, we can watch each other's backs."

"Why must you kill the children and the civilians?" asked Danzou. "Itachi agreed to this mission because the young and civilians would be spared. Besides, I don't have the authority to sanction an Uchiha genocide. And as for your second request, Itachi will have to decide that himself."

"Hahahaha!" was the orange-masked assassin's sinister reply. "You are a cleaver one, aren't you? Let's stop the games. We both know that a total genocide is the only sure way of eradicating these treasonous thoughts. But to appease your superior and peers, tell them that only those innocent of treason should be spared. Unfortunately, in this accursed clan, only one merits such classification due to him being the youngest and not yet a ninja. I believe this one is also Itachi's little brother, so it is he I'll spare."

"Very well, please leave the village upon mission completion. I hope you'll never set foot into this village again," replied Danzou.

"I hope so too," replied the slightly depressed Masked Shadow. His departing visage soon blurred into the shadows.

- End Flashback –

The Hokage and his former teammates were shocked to learn that Danzou had compromised village security by allowing an S-ranked assassin to enter the village.

"Danzou, for going behind our backs, your actions are treasonous. Furthermore, you've endangered the safety of our village by contacting and allowing entrance of a very dangerous missing-nin," spoke Homura, sounding aloud the thoughts of his former teammates.

"But I'm not the traitor here," defended Danzou, "the Uchihas were. Remember they planned a coup de taut. Not only would they have killed the Hyuugas but every council member, including all of us in this room. I did what I felt was necessary to increase the success of Itachi's mission. Don't you see? My actions support my loyalty to our village."

"Even if your motives were in the best interest of our village, you still acted presumptuously, circumventing our authorities," reasoned Hizuren calmly. "We are not saying your motive was treasonous, but your surreptitious actions were."

"And as for your defense in upholding the safety of our village, that too is fallacious. What guarantee were you given that this missing-nin wasn't going to do exactly what the Uchihas had conspired to do, killing every council member and several major clans?" interjected Koharu with blatant displeasure.

At this Danzou was silent. He hung his head in defeat.

The Sandaime looked at his advisor and sighed resignedly. Then in a quiet voice he said, "Danzou-san, please wait outside while we deliberate your punishment."

"Hai."

After a brief deliberation, Danzou was called back in.

As the meeting chairman, Sarutobi declared, "Ultimately, the end does not justify the means. Our decisions are final. For your many years of loyal dedicated service to Konoha and under the circumstances behind the reasons for your actions, we have decided not to pass the usual judgment befitting treason. However, we hereby remove you from your position as a council advisor and further demand that you disband your Root ANBU. You may still remain in the council, serving as a member, but no longer as an advisor. Do you accept our decisions? We strongly advise that you do."

With a stoic face showing no outward emotions, he said, "I accept."

…o.0.O.0.o…

The first words Kyuubi heard as she awakened from her slumber were the Sandaime's greetings to the citizens of Konoha. Realizing this was important she listened to how the events played out for her surprise visitor, Uchiha Itachi, and learned of the Uchiha Massacre.

"Why did he leave his brother alive?" she mumbled.

Then, she heard Sarutobi's excuse of why they would not be going after Itachi, she remarked, "Humans actually believe this nonsense of an excuse? They've become more gullible than they were when I roamed freely."

Thinking about her freedom, or the lack thereof, quickly dampened her spirits. She looked up again when she heard Sarutobi's fabricated theory of how Itachi supposedly became psychologically unstable.

"So that's how you choose to handle this mess, huh, you old prune? Nice save, Sarutobi."

Looking around her cage caused her depression to deepen. "It's lonely here all by myself," she admitted to herself with a sigh. "I wondered what happened to Naruto after my exhaustion claimed me."

Silently she searched through his memory and watched the past twelve hours of her jailor's life.

After spending a mindscape equivalence of two months with Naruto, she realized how lonely her past eight years had been. Those years had her consumed with rage as she replayed over and over her own imprudent mistake that resulted in her imprisonment.

She had let her emotions get the best of her when she met Madara, and he easily manipulated her into a vulnerable position and cast a genjutsu on her. Though she had harbored no ill-will toward Konoha when she attacked, she felt no remorse in her heart for the death of the many that night. She might, had they not attacked her first.

From her point of view, the damages she inflected on Konoha were a little excessive, but justified. Had there been bystanders in her cage, they would most likely have been quite confused by the strange expressions that played across her face as she pondered these things.

From Naruto's memories, the gargantuan bijuu found the one-sided sparring match amusing. Even though Kyuubi knew all that mental training would have done little to none in strengthening Naruto physically, she was still disappointed how much was there remained to be done to prepare him to be her avenger. The Nine-Tails cared not whether Naruto became Hokage as a byproduct of her own purposes for him.

Then she heard in Naruto's memory, _"Why don't you train me Asuma, like Kyuubi-sensei did?"_

The Kitsune remarked, "Good, so he did realize he needed Asuma to train him. Wait, did he call me Kyuubi-sensei?"

As she continued to go shuffle through her jailor's memory, she came across the words her vessel said in her defense, _"It's not her fault … she was tricked."_

At that moment, she felt something she had never experienced personally before. This feeling was not completely alien to her because she observed it in how other animals took care of their young.

"Has my motherly instinct finally awakened, or is this something different?" asked Kyuubi to no one in particular.

While she pondered over what an awakened motherly instinct meant for her as a bijuu, her thoughts drifted toward how unnatural her experience was with Qi when she suppressed her demonic chakra.

She was puzzled as to why she was relatively kind in her speech and action toward her vessel, even though Kyuubi no Kitsune had meant her jailor no harm. As a fierce tailed demon, she did have an image to maintain after all. Concluding that there was more to Qi than she had first thought, she transformed her body back to the regal beauty, picked up the Nine Yangs manuscript, and began reading with a renewed purpose.

Kyuubi remained demon herself in this humanoid form, rather than reverting to the kind sensei Naruto had met. She could only assume this was because she wasn't suppressing her chakra or channeling Qi.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The sole Uchiha heir had chosen not to be near the village courtyard during the Town Hall meeting. Right now, Sasuke could be seen crouching with his arms around his knees and leaning against a wooden post in the private training ground of the Uchiha compound.

Unlike what the Hokage had announced during the Town Hall meeting, Sasuke was not resting in the hospital, from where he had soon discharged himself.

Last night, in a world created by an advanced form of the Sharingan, Sasuke saw his brother murdered his parents, his older cousins, his relatives, and civilians. When Sasuke asked his brother why, Itachi said that he did it to measure his power. Then, Itachi told Sasuke to live in hatred and for revenge. The final parting words to Sasuke had been to kill his best friend so he too could obtain the ultimate Sharingan – the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Fortunately for massacre survivor, the Mangekyou user did not want to put the boy into coma. Otherwise, he would have been unconscious in the hospital for at least one month.

Reflecting back on that vision, the confused boy still could not fathom the actions of his once doting brother, who had been not only someone who watched over him, but someone whom he worshiped.

As tears rolled down his face, Sasuke whispered, "Brother … why?"

Emerging from the wood area, a masked person clothed in a black cloak with red clouds walked towards him. The sudden appearance and the gradual advancement of this stranger startled Sasuke. As the figure closed the distance, the massacre survivor noticed that the man reminded him of someone he had _possibly_ seen disappearing with his brother last night.

'_So that wasn't merely my imagination after all.'_

Once Sasuke rose to his feet, the mysterious person darted into a nearby ally. The eight-year-old gave way to chase, but found the ally empty.

Once outside the Uchiha compound, the mysterious figure dropped his henge.

'_This is the best I can do to warn him not to believe in the manipulated truth he was fed last night. Now I need to find the Kyuubi jinchuuriki.'_

…o.0.O.0.o…

Asuma had dropped Naruto off at his old apartment to pack for his move to the Sarutobi compound. The bearded Sarutobi told his recently adopted son that he was going to pick up some ramen from Ichiraku's and meet him back at the compound.

The new father's kind gesture elicited the expected excited jumps and shouts of jubilation from the blond. This exchange did much to brighten the mood for twosome after a grueling day.

Coincidentally Ichiraku's Ramen Bar was not just the right choice; it was the only choice since every eatery in the village closed that night. They had to set up many extra tables to accommodate the huge turnout. The waiting time was long, as many had also decided to order out.

Having already placed his orders, Asuma seated himself and went into deep thoughts about Naruto and the private conversation he had with his father when the adoption papers were finalized.

- Flashback –

"Dad, who were Naruto's parents?" asked Asuma.

"You know better than to ask a question you can't have the answer to," responded one irritated Hokage. "As I told Naruto, his heritage will be made known when he becomes Chuunin. You and the rest of the world will find out then."

"You know that he seems to resemble the late Yondaime-sama," Asuma pondered aloud. "Take away Naruto's whisker marks and give him fifteen years of growing – he would probably end up looking like the Yondaime's twin."

"Asuma…."

"Dad, why did you nudge me to adopt Naruto?" asked the puzzled Jounin, quite irate himself. "I may act laid back or slow, but I'm smarter than I look. If Naruto has such a great heritage, why should I adopt him, love him as my own, and later to lose him to his better and rightful heritage?"

"I'm not confirming or denying your speculations, but I do understand where you are coming from," reassured the father his son. "I can't make any guarantees on the future and neither can you; however, I can tell you that even if what you fear comes true, it's better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all. Besides, how do you know the boy won't recognize your part in his life after learning his true parentage? He already knows to expect its revelation, yet he was still very happy to learn you want to adopt him. I don't think you are giving the boy enough credit. Naruto won't grow up to be that kind of a person, not if you or I have anything to do with it."

- End Flashback –

Those thoughts were broken by the laughter of two angels about whom he frequently dreamt – the curvy genjutsu specialist Kurenai and the exotic snake mistress Anko. Images of their heavenly bodies flooded his mind. Slightly parting his lips, Asuma's lit cigarette dropped to wherever gravity pulled it.

The angelic duo sat couple of tables to his right and were already finished eating their meal. As Kurenai got up to leave, she turned her head toward her left; her wavy luscious hair whipped playfully to the other side.

Upon recognizing his signature beard, she walked towards her old teammate and called out, "Asuma? You're back?"

Her melodious voice awakened Asuma from his stupor as the burning sensation near his privates registered in his brain. Quickly he stood and brushed off the offending object nervously like an awkward teenager picking up his crush for their first date.

While the recently homebound Jounin continued to embarrass himself in front of his former teammate, the skimpily-clad Anko slithered sultrily to Kurenai's left and announced her presence with her own seductive laughter.

While looking down and trying to cover up a cigarette-burnt hole with his left hand, Asuma absent-mindedly extended his right hand to greet Kurenai with a handshake. His former teammate, however, was already moving in for a hug. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when Asuma's right hand squeezed her left breast. Instantly memories of what happened that night in the hot spring two years ago washed over her.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she heard his faint whispers of how her breast was as soft as he remembered.

Angry and embarrassed, Kurenai slapped her former teammate's face and yelled, "It was you in the hot spring?" Sensing no denial from Asuma, she continued, "So that's why you left?" Without waiting for a response, she stormed away from him.

Once her best friend had gone far away enough, Anko made her move. Even though she knew there was a possibility that the two former teammates had developed feelings for each other, Anko wanted to stake her claim on a person who ranked high on her 'To Bed' List.

She closed in on the distance between them and reached her hand out, using her skilled fingers to tease Asuma's beard up and down his jaw line. "So," she began, "you were one of the perverts that dared to pull that on us that day…umm … judging by how excited you were, you must have liked what you saw."

Just when Asuma's head started to tilt backward, readying to be blown back by a massive nosebleed, Anko snaked her left arm around his neck and pulled his head to her eye-level.

With a satisfied look in her eyes, she said, "I don't like men not keeping eye contact when I'm talking to them. I'm going to make sure Kurenai is okay first." Taking in a whiff of his minty tobacco scent, she winked playfully and continued, "When I get back, I'll give you a punishment you'll never forget."

Asuma mumbled incoherently while sweating profusely and trying to stay conscious.

"This rugged look is fitting on you," complemented Anko as she looked him up and down one last time before leaving. Then her gaze remained on his crotch. She asked, "Are you making a fashion statement with that cigarette-burnt hole? You know I don't like people dressing more provocatively than I do." As she walked away, she swayed her hips subtly and continued to laugh sensuously at his expense.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Since the adoption papers for Naruto had been finalized, Kakashi was no longer assigned to watch over the little boy. At this moment, however, Kakashi's thoughts were far from Naruto.

'_Why did you do it, Itachi? Could it really have been too much stress, especially after Shisui's death, or is there something else? Why didn't you seek my help?'_

During the Copy-nin's internal musing, he walked aimlessly with his face buried in his little orange book. As he came to the corner of the block, he collided with a fuming Kurenai heading away from the direction of the Konoha's popular ramen stand.

"Ugh! Another pervert!" exclaimed Kurenai pointing to Kakashi and his book.

The notorious pervert basher was already frustrated after discovering her former teammate's involvement in the hot spring incident. Unleashing her newly intensified fury against the smut reader, she cast a genjutsu on him and continued her journey to a tavern.

A few steps later, Kurenai donned on a satisfying smirk as she heard Kakashi's screams.

"What is this? Is that you Gai? Why are there so many of you? URGH! Why are you all in SPEEDOs? No! Stay back. Don't come any closer! Kai! KAI!"

…o.0.O.0.o…

As the Sandaime headed toward his family compound, he reflected on all the activities of this most unusual day, beginning with Naruto and his tenant. Hizuren was not surprised that Kyuubi would try to contact her jailor; he was surprised that she succeeded.

'_When Minato designed that seal, he intended it to prevent the Nine-Tails from harming his son. So it must be true that the demon wasn't trying to harm the boy last night. I think it'll be best to keep Naruto's "training" with Kyuubi a secret. I'll talk to Asuma about that.'_

With a calculated look, Hizuren continued his musings.

'_Maybe the Nine-Tails really was tricked into attacking Konoha and was equally a victim in that tragedy, fated to be sealed inside the Yondaime's legacy.'_

He felt very uneasy at the thought of Madara being alive.

'_I need to dig into his background and his issues with the Shodaime and Konoha.'_

When the exhausted village leader entered the compound, he thought back to Danzou and the Pandora's Box he'd opened.

'_Even though we've been lenient with Danzou's punishment, I have a feeling he will hold a grudge against me. And that Masked Shadow … there are just too many questions … why … what did he want from the Uchiha compound … was it merely the money he took from there, or was there something else … and does he have other hidden agendas?'_

With a deep sigh, he muttered to himself, "I'm getting too old for this. I better go check on my grandsons."

Continuing his footsteps with renewed energy toward the sleeping quarters, Sarutobi mused with a smile, _'Grandsons … I like the sound of that.'_

His first stop was his newly adopted grandson's room, only to be disappointed by an empty bed.

"Naruto? Where are you?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

-- Three Hours Earlier --

After the Town Hall Meeting, Asuma dropped Naruto off at his old apartment to pack his personal belongings. The bearded Sarutobi wanted to stay and help, but the boy insisted on doing this himself. The adoptive father figured that Naruto just wanted some alone time to reflect on the day's activities, as he found himself needing to do the same.

Naruto's apartment was not comfortable or decent by any living standard, but it had been home to him for the past three years of his life. The apartment did not always look run down, but some overzealous villagers put the 'decorating' touches on it for him. Despite living in what many his age would consider a dump, Naruto still appreciated the kindness the Third had shown him in procuring him the living quarters and paying the monthly rent.

It was now time to say goodbye to his old lonely home and move in with his adoptive family. The former orphan looked around the sparse room with mixed emotions.

As Naruto robotically packed away his belongings, his mind wandered back to the events of this most unexpected day. His thoughts landed first on the Uchiha massacre.

'_Why were all those people killed? Could this have anything to do with Weasel-san's departure? And why were the killers so cruel as to have an innocent boy witness the carnage only to be traumatized, possibly, for life? Uchiha Sasuke … I bet he's a lot like me.'_

Next, the jinchuuriki reflected on his tenant.

'_Looks like the fox was right … the amount of time I spent in the mindscape did little to improve the outcome in an actual fight … I need to get stronger so my arms and legs can keep up with my mind. I wonder what other technique the fox-lady had in mind to teach me. It's probably from another manuscript with a cool story behind it. Will I get to see her chibi self again? Don't worry Kyuubi, I'll right the wrong done to you and me and this entire village. I'll become the new guardian of those manuscripts and kill Madara.'_

Finally, packing his last items, the former orphan's thoughts went back to his new family.

'_I almost lost it back there when Jiji admitted he knew my parents … I guess it's best to wait until I'm emotionally mature enough to handle knowing my heritage. It looks like I don't have to be alone anymore … I now have a dad, a grandpa, and a kid brother! There will probably be people hating the Sarutobis for doing this, but then the old man is the Hokage. People have to respect him. I'm going to work doubly hard and take that job from Jiji. People will have to respect me then.'_

On the way to the Sarutobi compound, Naruto walked with his eyes on the road; his mind still buried in his thoughts. Absent-mindedly, the boy bumped into a standing body mass. Lifting his head to apologize, Naruto made eye contact with the person and suddenly found himself back in his mindscape.

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N:** The **Danzou** in this chapter appears slightly different than how he is in manga. Remember, everything in this chapter happens in an earlier timeline than when Danzou appears in manga.

I tried my best to make the Council Meeting as believable as possible without making the chapter boring. I hope the results were worth my efforts.

**Spoiler Alert: **To those who seen manga chapter 409, what the sage toad did with and said about the sage techniques was how I intended to have Qi merged with chakra in later chapters. Since technically Kishimoto put it on paper first, I can't actually claim he copied me. Then again, any WuXia reader familiar with Qi would know that what the sage toad described as the 'energy naturally around us' was Qi and that Kishimoto stole the concept and altered it so he didn't have to acknowledge its proper name or origin. Don't worry, my version of Naruto's Qi training will be better than the copycat's.

Should Sasuke get adopted? Who was the elusive stranger? What did he want with Naruto?

Let your voices be heard. Review below. I reply to ALL reviews.

Next … **Chapter 6: Nine Stances vs. Sharingan!**


	6. Nine Stances vs Sharingan

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 6: Nine Stances vs. Sharingan**

Revised – Final Version

**New C2** - I have a set up a new C2: **Naruto stories that are worth reading**. It contains well-written Naruto stories that are completed, or will be, per author's intent. I'm sure many readers feel the same way I do, we don't like to be hooked to a story only to have its author abandon it just when it gets good. So that why my C2 only contains stories that won't leave you hanging high, dry, and cold. Check it out in my profile, and click on Communities.

**Disclaimer:** I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

"Naruto? Where are you?"

"Who are you looking for?" asked a figure as he emerged from behind the entrance door. He was wearing a standard Konoha-ANBU mask with a weasel design printed on it.

Sarutobi Hizuren spun around and did a double-take. "What are you doing here?! You can't be seen here! Wait, you're too short to be…" _Itachi_. Catching his tongue before it slipped, the aged Kage quickly took a deep breath to compose himself. "I'm too old for this," he muttered. "Remove that mask … Naruto."

Slowly, the infamous spiky blond hair, whiskered birthmarks, and foxy grin emerged from behind the weasel mask. Once his face was completely revealed, the eight-year old's grin vanished as he said, "We need to talk."

"That we will," sighed Sarutobi, beginning to show signs of wearing down, "but it's already way past your bedtime. How about you, Asuma, and I meet first thing in the morning? I have important things I need to discuss with you both anyway."

"Okay, but you'll have to hear this tonight. You won't believe whom I bumped into on my way here from my old apartment …"

"Naruto, please … I really am tired … tomorrow?" Hizuren said with a small yawn. Now that he was sure his adoptive grandson was okay, the events of the long day were beginning to catch up with him. He was so eager for bed, in fact, that it was easy to assume that the weasel mask was just another of Naruto's pranks.

"… a certain acquaintance of ours who gave me this mask as a parting gift," continued Naruto, ignoring the old man's pleading.

Hizuren's exhaustion left him instantly. Without another word he closed the door, locked it, and then cast a small jutsu to insure their privacy. Then he sat next to his adoptive grandson on the bed and said, "Tell me exactly what happened."

_- Flashback -_

_Once he made eye-contact with the stranger, Naruto found himself in his mindscape standing before the Nine-tailed demon. This was Naruto's first time seeing Kyuubi in her full fear-inspiring gargantuan body. However, he did not have time to register his fear as he sensed the presence of another. The jinchuuriki did not understand how a stranger he bumped into could invade his mind, but he immediately readied himself for combat. Formulating a sword with his mind, Naruto grabbed firmly onto the newly materialized object and charged towards the stranger…._

…_. only to come to a screeching halt as the stranger brought up his hand and signaled for him to stop._

"_Lesson number one: It's very foolish to charge at someone blindly without knowing their skill level or whether they are friend or foe," admonished the intruder with an obviously faked voice._

_Naruto nodded like a student would when he was agreeing with an instructor. Heeding the older male's advice, Naruto calmed down and assessed the mysterious person standing before him. The intruder stood almost two-heads taller than Naruto. He wore the standard Konoha ANBU attire, with a katana strapped behind him, though he was missing the mask that ANBU always wore. His relatively young-looking face could not hide the maturing effects of having seen and performed many killings. With practiced ease, the intruder unsheathed his katana to match Naruto's sword._

"_It appears someone has taught you how to hold a sword," teased the intruder. "But from the look of things, that person wasn't a very good sensei."_

_Kyuubi roared from within her cage in response to the insult. Her anger shook the entire mindscape._

"_You leave her alone," demanded the self-appointed guardian of Kyuubi. Unconsciously positioning himself between the intruder and the cage, Naruto said, "Leave my mind now, or you'll be sorry."_

"_Hn…. Rather protective aren't we?" Pausing to observe reactions his off-handed comment garnered, the intruder continued on with his goading, "I guess you'll just have to make me."_

_Unlike the previous mindscape experience, Kyuubi had not channel Qi. Without the positive effects of Qi, Naruto easily allowed his emotions to get the best of him. The bijuu vessel charged forward while performing a sloppy sword thrust._

_Capitalizing on Naruto's haste, the ANBU-clothed stranger grabbed and twisted Naruto's right wrist to loosen his sword grip. Once the sword left contact with Naruto's grip, it vanished into nonexistence. With ease, the stranger tossed Naruto against the bars of Kyuubi's cage._

_The young man's eyes betrayed his disappointment and annoyance at Naruto's childish attempt._

"_Lesson number two: Never lose control of your emotions … ever."_

_As if on queue, Kyuubi chimed in from behind bars. "Remember what I've taught you. Let your sword art do the talking. This is your mindscape. You cannot lose … though you never know against a Sharingan user." _An Uchiha.

"_Sharingan?" questioned Naruto. "I don't know what that is, but it won't matter much. My Nine Stances are undefeatable. I even beat five of you."_

_A surprised look appeared on the Uchiha's face._

"_Don't be too cocky, brat," retorted Kyuubi with a small snarl. She might want her vessel to become the strongest shinobi ever, but she was not willing to admit being bested by a human – a child no less. "I was training you, not giving you a beating. My doppelgangers took it easy on you. They didn't exploit any of your numerous openings. You are facing a real opponent now, and you have to take it seriously." What the fox demon did not disclose to Naruto was that she and her doppelgangers had held back only in the beginning of their spar. Once Naruto took to the Nine Stances, he was able to overcome his opponents on his own, using his mastery of the sword art._

_Naruto looked down at his empty hand and watched as a sword materialized in it once more. Staring down at his reflection as it looked back at him from within the shiny blade, he tried to recall his months of mindscape training with Kyuubi that he'd gone through the previous night. Suddenly, the words of the Swordsman's Four Decrees echoed within his mindscape._

**A swordsman is his sword. A sword is its wielder. A swordsman and his sword are one. A swordsman and his sword are none.**

_With a burst of speed, Naruto appeared suddenly in front of the Uchiha. After his humiliating defeat in the spar with Asuma, Naruto was eager to fight again in his mindscape, where his rules reigned supreme. Here, his smaller stature and weaker physique did not matter, as long as his imagination could compensate for those handicaps._

_The Kyuubi vessel utilized the first two of the Nine Stances, the Composite Stance and the Sword-Conquering Stance, aiming one of their variations at the intruder's right eye. When the Uchiha raised his katana to parry away Naruto's sword, the blond twisted his wrist, avoiding a clashing of weapons, and aimed his sword at the intruder's heart._

_Using another hand holding the sheath to his katana, the Uchiha swung it over to deflect Naruto's second aim, only for Naruto to change aim again, causing his sheath to strike air. Shock registered on his face as he saw Naruto's sword inching toward his right eye again. This time, because of his current awkward position caused by overbalancing himself from both misses, he had no way of defending himself._

_Having no choice but to leap backwards to avoid the blond's deadly aim, the Uchiha activated his Sharingan in midair, and upon landing, he leaped forward into the fight again while making continuous offensive slices with his katana at a blinding speed._

_The mantra of the Four Decrees commenced chanting its second cycle, the echoes resonating off the walls in Naruto's mindscape._

**A …**

_Naruto launched a forward stab at his opponent's left kidney before he landed and disrupted the Uchiha's barrage of offensive slices. Unable to sidestep the younger fighter's attack midair, the older fighter brought his katana down to deflect the incoming attack and hit … air. The more experienced fighter tried five more times to complete his offensive strikes. In each attempt, the Sharingan wielder had to recall his katana from completing the offensive attack so it could defend against the faster and more lethal stabs of the blue-eyed boy. Finally the Uchiha landed from his leap._

… **swordsman …**

_Once his feet found ground, the Uchiha rolled to his right to avoid another of Naruto's lethal attacks. After three more failed attempts in executing an offense against the younger fighter, the Uchiha was forced to totally abandon all pretense of offense and focus solely on defending himself against the unpredictable and deadly strikes of the Kyuubi vessel._

_While it was true that a Sharingan user was able to see things in slow motion and allow its wielder longer reaction time, it could only predict movement when chakra was involved and when the opponent mentally projected his attacks._

_Most fighters mentally pictured their attacks before executing them, but the mental projections could only be read by the Sharingan through eye contact. Furthermore, they gathered chakra to the muscles needed to perform the attacks. For example, an increase in chakra concentration in the thigh and calf muscles indicated the fighter's intent to jump. Thus came to light one of the weaknesses of the Sharingan – its dependency on reading the opponent's chakra. If the opponent was able to mask his chakra, or to purposely gather chakra elsewhere in his body, he could mislead the Sharingan into anticipating a non-existing attack._

… **is his…**

"_Lesson number one," said Naruto with a smirk, while imitating the intruder's faked voice. "It's very foolish to charge at someone blindly without knowing their skill level."_

_His pride slightly wounded at having his snide comment thrown back at his face by an eight-year-old, the intruder charged again and said in the same phony monotone, "Playtime's over, you little runt!"_

**... sword. A sword is its wielder. A …**

_Six quick exchanges were made._

_The Lonesome Hermit of the Nine Stances, however, did not have the Sharingan nor did he care about chakra. He focused on Kung Fu and the basics of the human anatomy – the one thing that no fighter could mask – body language. And body language gave away a fighter's intent. For example, the slight tightening of the calf and thigh muscles gave away the fighter's intent to jump or kick. It did not matter if or where the fighter gathered chakra, his muscles must prepare in a certain way before performing the jump. The students of the Nine Stances learned the intricacies of the human anatomy so they could, among other things, anticipate and counter their opponent's every move._

**... swordsman …**

_Five more attempts at wounding his opponent were dodged, and Naruto found the elusive Uchiha annoyingly fast and nimble. Even though he had an inkling that this intruder was not there to harm him or his prisoner, Naruto was not going to let up his attacks until he found more to his theory than just gut feelings. _

_To the Uchiha's dismay, Naruto's Nine Stances were quite formidable. The younger boy easily had the upper hand against the older, more experienced, and nearly twice-as-tall fighter. The older fighter was at his wits end about what to do. With only a limited supply of chakra, he could only last a few more minutes in Naruto's mindscape. And he needed all the time he could get, considering that he still had a message to deliver._

… **and his …**

"_Lesson number two," Naruto said in a mocking mimicry of the intruder's annoying voice as he sent another stab towards his opponent's face, "Never lose control of your emotions … ever."_

_Throughout this whole exchange, Kyuubi had a bystander's objective view of the sparring. It was abundantly clear to her that the Nine Stances were superior in everyway to whatever ninja skills Itachi could throw against Naruto. Kyuubi knew full well that Itachi was severely handicapped by his inability to use ninjutsus and genjutsus in Naruto's mindscape. So the eventual outcome of this sparring match would not prove Naruto stronger than Itachi; rather, it would prove again the supremacy of the Nine Stances over any form of weaponry techniques._

_As she continued to watch Naruto's creative utilization of the Nine Stances, she recalled what she read from the manuscript about the Lonesome Hermit, the originator of the Nine Stances. When the student of the Nine Stances gained complete mastery over his sword art, he became just like the Lonesome Hermit, unbeatable in any weapon-to-weapon and hand-to-hand battles._

_So far, the only obstacles preventing Naruto from complete mastery in the physical world were his inadequacies in speed and strength, both of which he would grow out of._

_However, in his mindscape, those obstacles mattered not. In his mindscape, Naruto had complete mastery over the sword art known as the _Nine Lonesome Stances_._

… **sword are one. A swordsman and his …**

_His opponent twisted away from the thrust and barely was able to parry the follow up. He clearly needed to get some space from the blond, but Naruto wouldn't give him the breathing room to do it._

_After dodging three other near-misses, with the last one being too close to his groin for comfort, the Uchiha jumped back twice, collected himself, held up his right hand, and used his real voice to shout, "Stop Naruto-kun … Kyuubi, tell him who I am!"_

… **sword are none …**

"_Why? After all those earlier comments you made about me and my charge, why should I not let you get a beating?"_

_Upon hearing the playful tone in the fox's voice and recognizing the familiar voice of the boy before him, the echoing chant of the Swordsman's Four Decrees stopped._

"_Kyuubi-sensei," Naruto called out, turning his head slightly so he could look over his shoulder at the cage behind him while his opponent remained in his peripheral vision. He did not lower his sword just yet. "Who is this guy? Is he who I think he is, or is he the guy you want me to kill?"_

_The whiskered blond finally realized the difference between a student-sensei sparring match and a full-fledged fight. Before him stood possibly the most dangerous man alive, if he was the Uchiha Madara, who was powerful enough to manipulate the Nine-tailed demon. All the suffering he had gone through, all of the villagers' hatred that came from the loss of their loved ones during Kyuubi's attack, the loss of Naruto's chance to know his own parents as other kids knew theirs, and the loss of what would have been his normal childhood innocence – all of it came together to fill Naruto with overflowing righteous fury. He was ready to execute justice. All he needed was the go ahead from Kyuubi._

"_Relax Naruto. He's not Madara…"_

_Those simple words set off two sighs of relief: Naruto, for not having to kill yet; and the other, for not having to dodge the boy's deadly and unpredictable attacks again._

"… _but he is an Uchiha. Uchiha Itachi," Kyuubi explained gently._

_Naruto's eyes widened. "Weasal-san is Itachi, the traitor!?"_

_- Flashback Interrupted –_

"Itachi!?" exclaimed Sarutobi as he interrupted the narrative.

"Don't worry," reassured Naruto. "Weasal-san told me about his secret mission, and I don't hate you for doing what needed to be done."

"You don't think it was cruel and uncalled for?" inquired the worried Kage.

"A lot of people would have gotten killed if you didn't do it, right?" Naruto replied. "And it's not like you wanted anyone who wasn't a ninja to get killed, that was Danzou and Madara's fault."

Sarutobi frowned. "Madara? I thought Itachi was working with a missing-nin called the Masked Shadow."

Naruto shrugged and nodded. "Same guy."

"Kami!" Sarutobi whispered under his breath, his wrinkled face openly displaying his shock.

Naruto shook his head vigorously, his little blond locks whipping back and forth. "You haven't heard anything yet!" He said as he continued his story.

_- Flashback Resumed –_

"_So do you understand why I had to do what I did last night?" asked Itachi after he had explained his ANBU identity, his real purpose of visiting Naruto the night before the massacre, the mission he was ordered to do, and the complications of adding the Masked Shadow – Madara – into the mix._

_Naruto nodded and said, "Yeah, Weasel-san, I can understand why you had to kill the bad guys, but why did you team up with the worst bad guy of them all?" He bit his lip and swallowed hard as he waited for the information, and his stomach, to settle. _

_Unsure of the reason behind his nervousness, Naruto unknowingly tightened his sword grip. He tried to will himself to do what was necessary should Itachi admit to being the traitor everyone thought he was._

"_Simple," answered Itachi. "Someone needs to spy on him, and I'm no longer welcome in Konoha anyway." Of course the former ANBU captain noticed the sudden tightening of the blond's sword grip. This only brought a smile to his face as he saw in him a glimpse of his former privately-hired sensei – Uzumaki Kushina._

_Naruto wanted to ask him more about the mission, but decided against it. A brief awkward silence followed._

_Finally, Kyuubi broke silence and asked the obvious question. "If you are here, wouldn't Madara know you're missing and get suspicious?"_

"_I'm not really here," answered Itachi. Seeing the puzzled look on their faces, he continued, "I'm really a Kage Bunshin that was made in secret last night before the real me left with Madara. My time is limited by what little chakra I have left. I came to deliver a message to the Sandaime, but neither he nor I can afford for us to be seen together. Instead, you are going to be my messenger." Itachi already used more chakra than he had expected to in his spar with Naruto._

_- Flashback Interrupted –_

"A message for me!?" exclaimed Hizuren, interrupting Naruto once more.

"Jiji!" shouted one exasperated eight-year-old. "If you interrupt again, I won't continue anymore."

"Sheesh, you're beginning to sound like Konohamaru," teased the adoptive grandfather.

"JIIJII! I'm not doing it anymore," said Naruto with a childish pout, inwardly enjoying the brief light moment that interrupted the serious narative.

_Yeah, just like Konohamaru._ "Okay, sorry. If you continue, I'll buy you lunch at Ichiraku's tomorrow."

_- Flashback Resumed –_

"_Remember this Naruto-kun," continued Itachi, "Deliver this message only to the Sandaime. You are not to mention to anyone else this message or that you've seen me in this village. If you did, the village will brand you a traitor without giving you a chance to defend youself, and because of your … special condition … people will demand your blood for what happened to the Uchiha clan."_

"_Okay, I'm ready."_

_Itachi began, "Good, now look into my eyes. I'm going to seal this message into your memory with my Sharingan. My time is very limited now."_

_Focusing his cerulean blue eyes into Itachi's red-tomoed eyes, Naruto heard Itachi's voice burned into his memory._

"_Hokage-sama, Danzou has made some questionable decisions since his contact with the Masked Shadow last month. For one, he had some of his ROOT agent infiltrate ANBU as his spies. Secondly, he made no plan of complying with your order to disband ROOT. He is not to be trusted anymore. Please keep an eye on him._

"_Uchiha Madara is not dead. He is the famed missing-nin, the Masked Shadow. He is powerful and very dangerous, especially to Konoha, whom he carries a grudge against. Also he seemed to want my brother Sasuke for his own. I can't completely confirm this, but the evidence favors my suspicions._

"_He tricked my little brother into believing that I was the only one there last night by using a powerful Sharingan genjutsu called Tsukuyomi. The genjutsu spell took place in Sasuke's mind where Madara had total control over what Sasuke experienced in the technique's make-believe world. There he also told Sasuke to kill his best friend to get the most powerful Sharingan, the Mangekyou Sharingan._

"_I'm not quite sure why he sowed the seeds of hatred into Sasuke. I'm beginning to see how manipulative and conniving he is. No wonder he was able to trick the Kyuubi and used Tsukuyomi on her to force her to attack Konoha."_

_A low rumble echoed in Kyuubi's chest as she did her best to suppress the growl that begged for release. She would have scolded the Uchiha for bring up that unpleasant memory, but decided against doing so since the Kage Bunshin had nearly depleted its chakra. Of course Kyuubi's slight reaction was not recorded into Naruto's memory as the only voice heard by him while under the influence of the Sharingan was Itachi's._

_The recording continued in Naruto's mind. "Madara is gathering missing-nins to form a secret organization called Akatsuki. He needs ten members, and so far he has five, including myself. Your wayward student, Orochimaru, is among the five. I'm not exactly sure what Madara plans to do with the Akatsuki; whatever it is, it can't be good._

"_The night of the massacre, Madara was at the Uchiha compound, searching for two manuscripts. I believe they are the ones I gave Naruto-kun two nights ago; currently they are in the safekeeping of the Kyuubi. I think Madara fears the powerful techniques they contain. Somehow he can sense their presence if Naruto-kun was to unseal them from his mindscape. Please help him develop his mastery of the techniques described in them to his full potential. Whatever you do, don't have Naruto-kun take them out of his mindscape yet, at least not until he has mastered them and becomes strong enough to defeat Madara."_

_At this point, the bunshin started to flicker in and out of existence. Sensing his low chakra reserves, the clone ceased chakra flow to his Sharingan. Reaching into his attire, he pulled out his ANBU mask that his real self left behind before leaving with Madara and tossed it to Naruto._

"_Naruto-kun, here, a parting present to prove to Hokage-sama that you've talked to me … train hard and grow stronger to protect everyone … watch out for my little brother …"_

"_Don't worry Weasel-san," promised Naruto as he caught the mask. "I won't let you down."_

_Then he was forced out of his mindscape to see the 'stranger' in front of him vanish in a cloud of smoke._

_- End Flashback -_

"Naruto, that's a lot to take in, even for me. How do you feel about all this?" asked Hizuren once he was sure Naruto had finished relaying Itachi's message.

"I don't know, Jiji," answered the exhausted blond with evident anxiety and frustration in his voice. "Life keeps getting weirder and weirder. First, I'm the jinchuriki of Kyuubi no Kitsune. Then, I'm Kyuubi's avenger. And now Itachi expects me to keep Madara from getting his hands on those manuscripts… I'm never going to be a normal little boy, am I?"

"Grandson, I believe you were destined for greatness the day you were born. You inherited the potential for greatness from your parents. It is in your blood." When he said this, the grandfather lifted his grandson and placed him on his lap.

Embracing Naruto in a hug, Sarutobi rocked him as he said soothingly, "Don't worry. Even if the sky falls down, Asuma and I will be there to hold it up for you. No matter what lies in your future, we will be right there with you."

Slowly the anxiety-filled boy melted into his grandfather's embrace; a moment later, he was asleep.

Seeing his adoptive grandson had fallen asleep in his arms, Hizuren placed Naruto in his bed and tucked him in. Before leaving the sleeping boy, the Hokage made a mental note to ask him about the manuscripts after they had their meeting with Asuma.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The next morning found Asuma and his father in Naruto's room behind a privacy jutsu, barring their confidential meeting from prying eyes and ears. After a brief conversation about how Naruto had slept his first night in his new home and how he felt about his room, the newly reinstalled Jounin turned the conversation towards a topic he thought his son would be more excited to talk about..

"So, Naruto," Asuma said as he leaned casually against the wall of the room, "tell me why you want me to train you."

"I want to grow stronger," replied Naruto with a frown, thinking the answer was obvious.

"Why do you want to grow stronger?" inquired the Sandaime.

"If I'm stronger, I can become the Hokage, and the villagers will respect me," answered the whiskered blond.

The two men were silent for a moment, giving Naruto a breather. Then, Asuma asked, "What if the villagers never accept you? What if you never become the Hokage?"

"Nani? Dad, why couldn't I become the Hokage?" asked the depressed boy. Looking down, he asked, "Is it because of what's inside of me?"

"Naruto, because of what's inside of you, you are a hero to Konoha. So, of course you can be Hokage. I'll make sure of it," reassured the Sandaime. Then, he explained, "Asuma asked those questions to let you know that those are not good enough reasons to get stronger and train harder."

"They aren't?" the spiky-haired blond asked with a frown. "Then what would be a good reason?"

"The Will of Fire," answered the Professor.

"The will of fire?" repeated Naruto this unusual phrase.

"It is the spirit of Konoha's past, present, and future. The Will of Fire shines brightly in the examples of the previous Hokages and in the spirit of the ninjas who sacrificed their lives for the good of the village and the protection of their precious people. Everyday in this village the Will of Fire is passed on from the older generation to the younger, from the Jounins to the Genins, and from the instructors to the students. Like Konohamaru, you too will inherit one … our Will of Fire," explained the Professor with a gentle smile.

"Really?" Naruto asked. He suddenly felt a little more proud of his place in this new family. Not only was he now a son and a grandson, but he was also the person to whom they would pass something exceedingly precious… if he understood the Sandaime correctly.

"Naruto, when I train you, I want you to remember that you are getting stronger, not for the selfish greed for power," Asuma said in a solemn voice, "but for your desire to better protect the village and your precious people."

"As I warned those of this clan who chose the way of ninja before you, I now state the same warning to you. If at anytime I sense that you have become bent on greed for power, I will personally end your career as a ninja," declared Sarutobi in all seriousness. "Being a part of this household affords you free access to our voluminous clan library of ninja techniques, and I can't allow such power to be abused."

"I understand, Jiji," answered Naruto. "I will find my precious people in this village, and I will grow stronger to protect them and the village. I'll be stronger than all the previous Hokages. I'll protect everyone with my life."

…o.0.O.0.o…

In an apartment a few blocks away from the Sarutobi compound sat two kunoichis eating breakfast. Today was Anko's turn to cook and Kurenai's to do the dishes. Anko made scrambled eggs and dango. As they ate, Kurenai vented her frustration to her friend about discovering Asuma to be the pervert at the hot springs two years ago.

"I don't think I can ever forgive Asuma for that," said the crimson-eyed genjutsu mistress who still could not get over having her trust betrayed by her former teammate.

Being somewhat of a sadist, Anko had a simple and, to her anyway, natural suggestion to help her friend feel better.

"Let's treat him to our pervert humiliation special," she said with a wicked smile. "We could let Yuugao in on it as well, since she was equally a victim in that incident."

Still hung up on feeling betrayed, Kurenai picked up her dining knife and shouted, "Urgh! That bastard! Let's castrate him!"

"Whoa, sister! Hold on," said Anko, looking a little uncharacteristically nervous. "You may never forgive him, but that doesn't mean I won't. Who knows? Those family jewels might come in handy in the future."

The last few words were said a little quieter, almost under Anko's breathe. They were so out of character with the normally sadistic kunoichi that they caused Kurenai to look up sharply. Her red eyes stared at her friend until Anko blushed and looked away. Kurenai smirked and rolled her eyes.

"So I was right. You have the hots for him."

"Heh … let's not jump to conclusions," the snake mistress snorted. Then, she added with a note of loneliness, "You know me and the men I dated … they all turned out to be one-night stands. They all wanted the same things, but just not the most important thing: me."

"Well, those scumbags weren't good enough for you anyway," comforted the wavy brunette. "You're better off without them."

Lowering her head to break eye-contact, Anko said the next words with faint resentment, one not unnoticed by her roommate.

"If you still have feelings for that smoke monkey, I'll try to flirt less around him. I do still have a reputation to keep, you know."

"We aren't like that anymore," Kurenai replied softly. "He and I can never be…."

It pained her to have to bury the feelings that she'd long had for Asuma, but she knew it was necessary. The hot spring incident affected her more than it did Anko or Yuugao because Asuma was her teammate at the time. She had trusted him with her life and more. Him being a drunk and a pervert notwithstanding, she would have forgiven him _if_ he had remained and confessed to her, instead of running away and hiding. She might even have let him off if he'd simply come to her after he'd sobered up and explained what happened.

She used to think that he had left for such a long mission without saying good-bye because he did not want to deal with her feelings for him, that somehow she was not good enough for him. Knowing the real reason behind his two-year hiatus only made her feel worse. It would have been easy for their longstanding friendship to grow into something more, but his cowardice cost them any chance of happiness together.

"… I think eventually I'll forgive him, but I'll probably never trust him again. If you want him, he's yours."

Both kunoichis knew that without trust, no relationship could ever work. This was especially true for ninja couples who might be separated for weeks, if not months, at a time, depending on the length of their missions.

Plus, Kurenai was not one to stand in the way of her friends' potential happiness. This was doubly true for Anko, who hid her loneliness behind her sadistic flirts and promiscuous lifestyle. If Anko fell for Asuma and he was able to get her to drop her mask, Kurenai would do everything that a good friend could for the two of them to have a chance at love and happiness.

"Are you sure, roomie?" asked Anko, barely able to contain her eagerness.

"Yeah," answered Kurenai with a sigh. "By the way, what do you see in him anyway?"

"I'm not sure yet," replied Anko, taking a thoughtful bite of her dango. "All I know is that he's not like anyone I've ever met before."

…o.0.O.0.o…

In Naruto's room sat the three regulars engaging in a lively conversation about his training regiment. Sarutobi ordered Naruto and Asuma to keep Kyuubi's involvement a secret, including Naruto publicly addressing Kyuubi as a sensei. He would provide Naruto training on seals and chakra manipulations. Due to his village duties severely limiting his time, however, Sarutobi's training would mostly involve him directing Naruto in his self-study. He would pick out the right sequence of scrolls for Naruto to study on his own and answer any questions the boy might have as he went through them.

On the other hand, Asuma would be doing more of the hands-on training in taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. Asuma was no expert in genjutsu, but he had picked up a few tricks from Kurenai over the years. During the discussion, Asuma recommended weights to Naruto for strength training and morning jogs to increase endurance. The next day, Naruto would be attending the Academy with children his age. Many of them had already started their attendance two years before him, at the age of six. Naruto would have a lot of catching up to do. As soon as their discussion was over, Asuma planned to show the spiky-haired blond how to mold chakra.

"I'm sorry Asuma, but can your training with Naruto wait until the afternoon?" asked Sarutobi. "I have a few things I need to discuss with Naruto alone."

"Sure Dad."

Once Asuma left the room, Sarutobi reapplied the privacy jutsu and asked his adoptive grandson, "Tell me everything you know about those two manuscripts."

"Actually I don't know a whole lot, but I'm sure Kyuubi-sensei does," replied Naruto. "I think she probably had to at least read through them to pick which one to teach me first. I wish you have those cool red eyes like Itachi. Then, you can join me and Kyuubi in my mindscape."

Sarutobi was quiet for a moment with a thoughtful expression on his face. Then his eyes lit up, and a small smile spread across his face.

"I believe I have an idea that might work, even without the Sharingan."

…o.0.O.0.o…

Leaving the Sarutobi compound, Asuma walked with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He looked to catch up with his long time friend Kakashi.

Though he was a year younger than Asuma, Kakashi had outranked him almost from the very beginning of their friendship, having swiftly advanced through the ninja ranks under the tutelage of two legends of Konoha, the Yellow Flash and the White Fang. It wasn't just the quality of training, however, that sped the silver-haired ninja though the ranks. Kakashi had something to prove. He wanted to earn back the honor lost by his father's decision to save his teammates in lieu of completing the mission … the honor of being a Hatake.

Asuma, on the other hand, had suffered the dwarfing pressure of being under the towering shadow of his father, who was known by the nicknames "god of the shinobi" and "The Professor." While he had access to the village's most coveted and comprehensive library of ninja techniques that his clan had collected over the years, Asuma had led a sheltered life and had no real motivation to train hard or advance quickly in rank. That was not to say he had not become strong in his own right under the guidance of his father. He was simply not as motivated as Kakashi was to announce his worth as a ninja to the world.

It seemed unlikely that two such different men would form such a close friendship, but differences didn't matter much when they were working together to complete difficult and dangerous missions. In fact, their differences had led to them developing skills which actually complimented each other, leading to many successful missions that might otherwise have ended in disaster. After years of such missions, they were closer than brothers in every way that mattered. Each would willingly give of his life to save the other.

As he continued on his journey to the ANBU headquarters, he noticed a familiar pervert basher sitting in a dango shop with her back toward him. He quickened his pace slightly in hopes of passing the kunoichi before getting caught.

"Tsch, tsch, Suma-kun, I'm offended that you think I wouldn't be able to detect you walking behind me," chided Anko without bothering to turn around to face her crush, "especially since you are the only ninja in Konoha that smokes that brand of minty cigarette."

"Suma-_kun_?" asked the bearded Jounin. Though completely clueless about Anko's feelings for him, he could not help but blush slightly on hearing her nickname for him.

"Why don't you come and join me?" offered Anko as she turned to wink at him while suggestively patting the stool next to her.

Asuma took a deep drag on his cigarette and then flicked it away as he walked toward the dango shop. He was unsure why everything Anko did quickened his heartbeat. Her smile, her wink, the way she patted the stool with her slender fingers, the way her back moved when she turned to him. Not even his former teammate Kurenai had such an effect on him. Perhaps it was because he had been deprived of any female contact for two years in the Guardian Monastery. Perhaps Anko was putting on her seductive charms as a way of payback for the hot springs incident. Perhaps Asuma was developing a feeling for the exotic beauty. Perhaps … the possibilities were too many. It would be too bothersome for Asuma to figure out why. He would rather just go with the flow, the way he had been doing all his life.

Asuma ended up passing time with Anko until he had to meet up with his adoptive son. Though both revealed little of themselves to each other, both had thoroughly enjoyed chatting casually and being in the other's company. The bearded Jounin had forgotten about wanting to catch up with his old friend.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The feline-masked ninja remained hidden in the tree as he watched the raven-haired boy clean up the desecrated grounds of what used to be one of the strongest clans in Konoha. It had been two days since the Uchiha Massacre. Even though the ANBU had gone through it to properly dispose of the dead bodies and D-ranked missions had assisted in cleaning the place, the sole Uchiha survivor still found himself with a lot of work to do. Throughout the morning, the top student of the Ninja Academy had yet to notice the spying nin, who remained hidden until he chose to make his presence known.

Tsume and her two children, Hana and Kiba, made their way toward the Uchiha compound. During the previous night's council meeting, Tsume and Danzou were each given permission to present their offer to Sasuke. After explaining what they were offering him and why, they were to give Sasuke the rest of the day to think before announcing his decision before the council. The Inuzuka Clan Head decided that she would approach Sasuke first. Finally reaching the once heavily guarded entrance of the Uchiha compound, Tsume announced their presence and entered with her children in tow.

Glad to be interrupted from the monotony of cleaning and the morbid thoughts of why the chores needed to be done, Sasuke rushed to greet his first visitors since that fateful night and was pleasantly surprised to find his fellow classmate Kiba, a tiny puppy in his hands, standing beside his mother and sister.

After bowing to Tsume, Sasuke addressed her in honorifics befitting of a Clan Head.

"You do not need to be so formal Sasuke-kun," reassured Kiba's mother. "A mere 'Tsume' will do. By the way, I've've heard that you've discharged yourself from the hospital."

"Yes, Tsume-san," replied Sasuke, choosing not to explain that he had left because he found hospital rooms overwhelmingly morbid and sterile. "Would you like to follow me to the dojo room?"

"'Tsume-san' is still too formal for my taste. We'll just have to work on that," commented Tsume.

"Nani?" remarked Sasuke, confused as to the meaning behind the dog tamer's words.

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything in due time," Tsume said with a kind smile. "Just lead the way."

Once they were inside the dojo room they all sat on the mats, Sasuke on one side, the Inuzukas on the other. After a few exchanged pleasantries, Tsume explained the council's decision to the eight-year old.

"Nani? You still want to adopt me even though you'll give up the right to have the Sharingan added to your clan's bloodline?" asked a puzzled raven-haired boy. "What's in it for you then?"

"Hmph," remarked Hana with a smirk. "Don't think too highly of your Sharingan, or too lowly of human nature. We Inuzukas are loyal to a T, and it's in our blood to care for those strayed."

"Listen!" shouted Sasuke. "I don't need your pity. Besides, I heard that there's another 'stray' in the village you can adopt. No adult seemed to want their kids near him. Why don't you go practice your charity there?"

"That's enough Sasuke," rebuked Tsume with a motherly authority. "Don't take offense in the term 'strayed.' We use it quite often in our dealing with our companions – our dogs. I assure you that the term is not meant to be demeaning when we use it."

She paused as to think of an answer for his question concerning the infamous orphan. Fortunately her daughter replied for her. "We would have adopted Naruto if it wasn't for a few of my dogs. For some reason, they couldn't get along with him and we didn't want to bring him into our family if we couldn't make him feel completely comfortable."

"Fine, but that still doesn't explain why you want to adopt me," Sasuke replied with a shake of his head. " Your dogs might like me better, or whatever, but you're still just getting stuck with someone like…" his voice trailed off as he tried to think of the right words to describe himself, but the only thing his thoughts managed to produce was a lump in his throat that he couldn't quite swallow.

"I'm not doing this because I pity you," said Tsume soothingly. "I want you to be a part of my family because I don't believe that anyone should be alone. We will always treat you with love, respect, and kindness. You will never have to be alone again, Sasuke-kun."

"I want to believe it," whispered Sasuke while tears that welled up in his eyes. He started to cry uncontrollably, hissing in between breath, as he said the next words. "I want to believe you, but…. I don't know how to forget. I don't want to move on and be part of a new family, I want…. I miss my old family."

Tsume stood, crossed the space between them, and then sat directly in front of Sasuke, gently putting a hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eyes.

"Sasuke-kun, I know that we can never replace your family. I'm not here to be a replacement for your mother. I just want the opportunity to help you heal and eventually learn to move on with your life. I don't want you to force yourself to forget the painful tragedy, nor do I want that pain to dominate you for the rest of your life. I want to help you treasure the good memory you had with your old family while making new ones together."

She waited to see if he would respond or ask another question and then added, "Just think about it, okay?"

"Meanwhile, I'll leave your present here with you," said Kiba as he too stood and approached Sasuke. He gave the puppy that had been resting peacefully in his arms an affectionate scratch behind the ears and then held it out to Sasuke.

The puppy and Sasuke bonded like long lost friends. The former wagged its tail playfully while licking the dark-haired boy's cheek. The latter found himself unable to hold in a small, almost reluctant, giggle at the puppy's antics. It seemed like Hana still knew how to pick them after all.

"You'll need this," Hana said as she handed him a basket full of puppy food and other puppy care items.

To the lonely boy who just lost his family, what he wanted and needed the most was what the Inuzukas were offering him. Just when Sasuke was about to agree on being adopted by Tsume, the woman raised her hand to interrupt.

"Fair's fair. You must hear Danzou's proposal first before making a decision."

Though she knew that was the right thing to do, she got the feeling that she would regret later for not accepting his answer right away.

The feline-masked ninja spied on their conversation from his concealed location. He was raised from birth not to have any emotions. However, listening to the Inuzuka matriarch's moving conversation made him wonder how he would turn out if he was extended such an offer, instead of the ROOT regiment. Still, if his master's theory on the Uchiha was true, his offer for the boy to attain power would be hard for him to resist.

Though the ROOT branch was officially disbanded by the Hokage, Danzou was not going to cast off the blood and sweat he poured into his pet project without a fight. The old war hawk had deliberately withheld his punishment from his subordinates. None of them knew of his demotion from the advisor position or of the order to disband ROOT.

Hokage or not, Danzou would be damned if he was to comply with the senile old fool's demands.

As the Inuzukas bid their good-byes, Tsume turned her head toward the concealed ROOT-nin and said, "You can come out now. Remember to play fair like we did."

Sasuke followed Tsume's gaze and saw a masked ninja jump down from the tree branch on which he'd been standing. Slowly and as nonthreatening as possible, the masked nin walked towards the raven-haired boy.

'_He was here all this time, and I didn't even notice. Could this Danzou guy be my ticket to gain the power I need to kill my brother?'_

As he was thinking this, Sasuke clutched the puppy in his arms a little tighter, seeking comfort in its company.

The masked ninja stopped when he was a few feet in front of the massacre survivor. No words were exchanged as none were needed. Sasuke led him back to the same dojo room.

"Could you please remove your mask?" asked Sasuke once they were behind the privacy of the doors of the dojo room.

"I'm afraid that would not be possible," replied the ROOT agent. "My identity needs to remain a secret at the moment. Should you accept my master's offer, however, I will become your private instructor. Only then will I remove my mask if you still remain curious."

"Who is your master, and what is his offer?" asked Sasuke whose interest was clearly piqued by the mystery surrounding the ninja and whoever that sent him.

"My master is Danzou-sama," explained the masked ninja. "He serves as one of the personal advisors to the Hokage and is the leader of a special division in ANBU called ROOT." After pausing slightly for that information to sink in, he continued, "Danzou-sama would like you to enroll in the ROOT training program."

Technically, on paper and as far as how Danzou had been presenting the idea to the Hokage, the advisors and the council, Danzou was another option for Sasuke to be adopted. The Council as a whole never approved enrolling Sasuke into ROOT, and the Hokage had dismissed that idea out right, in no uncertain terms. The only way for Danzou to enroll Sasuke was to "adopt" him as a son, at least on paper. Danzou planned to turn Sasuke into a weapon of ROOT under the guise of the adoption.

Sasuke was silent for a moment, thinking over the differences between the two meetings. With Tsume, he had received warmth, compassion, and a range of other human emotions, but most importantly, he'd been given comfort. With Danzou's agent, however, everything was cold, lifeless, and all business.

There was something else more important that Sasuke noticed about this ROOT agent. He carried himself like someone who was powerful and had been so for so long that he was as used to it as he was to breathing.

It reminded him a little of the way Itachi had carried himself.

"Tell me more about the ROOT training."

…o.0.O.0.o…

When Naruto arrived at the Sarutobi training ground, he found his adoptive father already there sitting in the lotus position meditating with his eyes closed.

Sneaking up to him, Naruto waved his left hand in front of Asuma's face and got no reaction. Putting on his prankster cap, the eight-year old carefully slipped his adoptive father's cigarette pack out of his Jounin vest and proceeded to walk away to find a hiding place for it.

"Naruto, stop right there," said Asuma without opening his eyes or changing the expression on his face.

"Okay, Chimchim-san, you've caught me," admitted Naruto as he stopped briefly from advancing away.

"I've told you not to call me that," said Asuma with a tick mark on his face.

"But that's what Doggy-san called you," said Naruto, slowly inching away. It had been too long since Naruto pulled his last prank… well, too long for Naruto anyway.

Asuma didn't miss the movement. "Naruto, give me back my cigarettes!" he shouted as he rose to his feet to chase after him.

"You'll have to catch me first," said the laughing blond as he sped off across the Sarutobi compound, bring a smile to faces of those who saw their chase. "Besides, you'll live longer without them and have more money to buy me ramen."

"NARUUTOO!"

…o.0.O.0.o…

At the appointed meeting time, Sasuke appeared before the Hokage, his two advisors, Danzou, and Tsume. In his arms was the little puppy, which he named Chame, for its playful disposition.

"Sasuke, I've heard that you've been approached by Tsume and Danzou and have been made aware of their offer to you. Is that correct?" asked the Sandaime as he smiled inwardly at seeing how Sasuke bonded with his new companion. Hizuren hoped the raven-haired boy would make the right choice.

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

The five members before him leaned in and awaited his answer.

"So, what is you decision?" asked Tsume, anxious for his response.

"I choose … both."

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N:** I like to thank KyLewin for all his hard work in beta-ing this chapter. Your help was invaluable, as always.

This is the longest, over 10,400 words, and by far the most difficult chapter I've ever written. It has more of a serious tone to it, but it has the fighting goodness that I know many of you enjoy.

There was also a lot that I needed to cover this chapter before I time skip to the next, Genin Exam.

So did you get it all?

Itachi was the stranger Naruto bumped into. Kushina was Itachi's private sensei. Naruto could defeat anyone that appeared _in his mindscape_ as long as they were not another master of the Nine Stances. Anko and Asuma had a first unofficial date. The Inuzukas gave Sasuke a dog. Sarutobi was able to talk to the Kyuubi somehow and learned about the manuscripts (though it was only implied in the story). Madara wanted the manuscripts for himself and could somehow sense their aura, which had become undetectable when sealed in Naruto's mindscape. Sasuke chose both Inuzuka and Danzou.

Whew….

Don't forget to leave a review!

Next … timeskip … **Chapter 7: Genin Exam!**


	7. Genin Exam

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 7: Genin Exam**

Revised - Final Version

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N:** Hi readers and reviewers. I've decided to keep my future chapters around this length, which is more manageable for me. I have a lot going on in my personal life while writing this chapter. My family and I will soon be grieving over the death of a loved one. Though ideas hadn't flowed as freely for this chapter, I enjoyed writing it anyway; writing was a way for me to mentally escape the things around me. I had originally wanted to add more to this, but dealing with what I have to deal with right now makes it quite difficult to do so. (29.8.2008)

I thank all who had given me their support through these difficult times. Please read, enjoy, and leave a review.

On a side note, I've posted another story. It was hatched a month ago, right before things hit the fan in my personal life. It's an AU Naruto story that is fun and adventurous on the surface. On a deeper level, it takes you on a journey exploring a wide range of human emotions. Once you get past the obvious, though very minimal use of Sci-Fi, you'll find my new story enjoyable. You can find it under my profile. Go there after you're done reading and reviewing here.

Thanks again to KyLewin for beta'ing this chapter for me.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Time Skip – Four Years Later

Sarutobi Naruto.

That was the name he wanted to be called.

However, both his father and grandfather denied him of his wish. They insisted on him keeping his given name, saying that it would pave way for claiming his true heritage in the near future. Nevertheless, Naruto was insistent on adding the name Sarutobi in one form or another. As the villager-certified "Prankmaster from Hell," Naruto was a force to be reckoned with when he wanted to be. When he really wanted something, his persistence coupled with his unpredictable pranks made him quite persuasive.

Uzumaki Naruto Sarutobi.

That became his new name.

As he continued towards the classroom, he was forced to pass through a slew of spit wads. Though the disgusting projectiles were numerous, traveling at speeds only possible when aided by chakra, and randomly crisscrossing trajectories, Naruto navigated through them as if they were frozen in mid-fight.

Rounding the corner into the next hallway, Naruto nimbly spun to his left, side-stepped someone who was not paying attention to where he was running to, and coincidentally caught a fellow classmate who was falling toward his spin after she had tripped over her own books. He had caught her and held her in his arms and would not have wanted it any other way.

Her serene, pale lavender eyes stared into his cerulean blue ones, completely mesmerized by them. For that brief moment, her universe was at peace. And so was his.

"Hinata-hime."

Alas, her peace was interrupted. Her beautiful porcelain face suddenly turned crimson red. Her calm, regal Hyuuga composition melted under the intense heat that erupted within her body.

"Hinata-hime, are you alright?" asked Naruto, clueless as ever. "Why do you suddenly feel like you're burning up? If you're too hot, I could help you take off your jacket. Do you want that?"

"N-naruto-kun," she managed to will herself into saying before she fainted. Her satisfied smile continued to enhance her already beautiful face.

Unsure of what exactly happened or what else to do about it, the blond made a Kage Bunshin to carry their books while his original self picked up the blue-haired girl bridal style and carried her with him to class.

"Boss, you shouldn't strain yourself," the clone offered a little too innocently. "Here, let me carry her, and you can carry the much lighter books."

"Shut up before I use you as a practice target for kunai throwing training with Anko." Naruto hissed. Sometimes it was frustrating to have to ward off his clones who also shared the same desires as his original self.

"Ha, Kit," spoke a voice in his mind, "admit it, you enjoy being near her, inhaling her intoxicating aroma. Um, she's almost ready. In a few years…"

"Shut up!"

"Naruto, who are you talking to?"

The blond boy raised his head towards the new voice. "Iruka-sensei, I…."

"The boss was talking to me, Iruka-sensei," said the clone behind him, rescuing the original from answering the awkward question.

"Alright, Naruto, you know how I don't like you showing off in front of your peers."

"Sorry, sensei, but I thought for the Genin Exam, we'll all be making bunshins; so it's not like I'm doing something we shouldn't already know."

"Well, Bunshin no Jutsu is one of the techniques you'll be tested on, but nobody else's clones can carry books."

"Okay, sensei. Since my arms are a little occupied, would you mind carrying those books once I dispel my clone?"

In his four years in the Ninja Academy, Iruka-sensei was the only teacher who took a personal interest in Naruto. That was perhaps because the Chuunin instructor had a similar background as the blond boy when he was younger. As an orphan himself, a young Iruka had desperately sought attention and acknowledgement from people around him. Or perhaps taking a personal interest in his students was just Iruka's constitution. In Naruto's eyes, it was a trait that put him in a league above the other academy teachers.

The scene Iruka saw before him could only be described as adorable.

"Alright, Naruto, let's get to class so you can put Hinata down," Iruka teased with a wink. "Should we take the direct route or the scenic route?"

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted while trying to hide his grin and blush.

When they entered the class, Iruka noticed that it was quieter than usual. Perhaps the students were nervous about their exam.

"Ino-pig, it's my turn to sit next to Naruto-kun. You've had him all week."

No, that was just wishful thinking on Iruka's part. It turned out to be another normal day at the Ninja Academy.

"Forehead, this is the last day of class. It would be more of a hassle to change seats than to stay put. Besides, you get to sit next to Sasuke-kun. So why are you complaining?"

"Ino-pig, that's beside the point. Rules are rules. You get Sasuke-kun today, and Naruto-kun is mine."

"Troublesome," said the scrawny pineapple-haired boy who was just awoken from his nap by the two fan-girl banshees.

"Shut up, Shikamaru!" shouted the boy-crazed rivals in unison.

"Um, actually, girls," interrupted Naruto, coming from behind them toward his regular seat, "if it's okay with you, I want Hinata-chan to sit next to me today. She fainted again, and I think it's probably my fault, so I want to make sure she's okay."

Naruto was the kind of person that would go out of his way to make people happy. When he had first met Ino and Sakura, he found them fighting over who should sit next to Sasuke. The blond boy told the girls that they did not have to ruin their friendship over something as insignificant as where they got to sit. Naruto assumed that they must have been fighting because they did not want to sit alone. He told them that they should each take a turn sitting next to Sasuke and the one that did not get to sit with the Uchiha could sit with him.

For reasons incomprehensible to Naruto, both girls' faces turned red, just like Hinata's did whenever he so much as glanced at her. Apparently, when others were not greeted by his pre-adoption messy and smelly self, they saw and were attracted to the real him, a kind and gentle soul.

During the last four years since his adoption, Naruto was not sure why girls acted that way around him or how to react to all this unfamiliar but pleasant attention. _'Maybe Dad had been right about the importance of hygiene.' _

Since that fateful day when Asuma burned his orange jumpsuits, taught him proper hygiene, and bought him a whole new ninja wardrobe four years ago, he had been receiving these same weird looks from girls close to his age.

"Well, actually, the reason Hinata … mm … mm…."

"That's fine, Naruto-kun," interrupted Sakura while her hand covered Ino's mouth. "We'll find our own seats somewhere else."

Turning her attention to her platinum-blonde friend when they distanced themselves somewhat from Naruto, she removed her hand and said, "Where would that leave us once he finds out about Hinata's crush on him?"

"Oooh."

Her former best friend had always been a little slower than she was.

"You know Ino, you were right," stated Sakura with a sly grin. "I should just stay with Sasuke-kun today since it's the last day. Like you've said, it would be more of a hassle to change seats now, especially since Iruka-sensei's already here."

"I'm glad you are seeing things my way … Hey! Wait a minute Sakura…."

Sasuke, who was sitting in a chair next to the two standing girls, tuned out the rest of their conversation.

His eyes glanced over to his blond classmate seated before while his hands busied themselves petting his dog, Chame. Petting Chame had long since become his habit when he observed people or became lost in thought.

Naruto was an enigma to him. There seemed to be more to his blond classmate than what met the eyes.

'_Why do the adults hate him? How much of his skills is he really hiding? What's with that sword he has strapped on his back? If he knows how to use a sword, how come he never uses it when we spar?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by his adoptive brother, Inuzuka Kiba.

"Sasuke, you shouldn't be looking at another boy like that," teased Kiba, trying to withhold his snickers.

"Shut up mutt boy, or I'll turn you into a pincushion in our next kunai throwing practice."

"Hey, I'm not the only mutt boy here!" Kiba shouted back in defense.

Shino turned his head toward Kiba when he heard his remark. Because of his raised collar, dark shades and stoic demeanor, no one could see Shino's face to read exactly what he was thinking. However, Iruka believed that he was sighing at Kiba's stupidity in substantiating the 'mutt boy' insult.

The door opened, and in walked Mizuki-sensei. With the arrival of the second instructor, the class could finally begin.

Unlike most mornings, Iruka did not have to use the Head Expansion no Jutsu to settle the class down. The classroom had suddenly become eerily silent, each student waiting to take his or her Genin Exam.

"We'll be calling the names out alphabetically. When I call your name, please follow me to another room to take your exam. The rest of you remain quiet in this room while you wait for your turn. Any rowdiness could be grounds for your immediate failure."

Both the Uchiha and the Uzumaki boys sighed at the same time and buried their faces into their palms. Their names were among the last ones on the list. This day was going to be such a waste of time for them. They both wished that they could be using this time more wisely in training or studying instead of staring at the clock until their names got called.

"First up, Aburame Shino."

…o.0.O.0.o…

The Sandaime donned on his Hokage robe and stood proudly overlooking the balcony of the Hokage Tower. His wrinkled right hand steadied the pipe in his mouth as his left lit it with a weak fire jutsu. A gently breeze washed over him, wrapped his smoke briefly around him, and dispersed it into nothingness.

His thoughts wandered to the day Sasuke walked into his office four years ago. The Uchiha boy's words – words that in some ways still shook the Council today – remained vivid in his memory.

_I choose … both._

_Both?_ The Sandaime had questioned at the time. Why would Sasuke choose to be adopted by two different families? Unless … Danzou. He must have wanted to use the guise of adoption to enroll Sasuke into ROOT and had never presented to Sasuke the adoption aspect of things in effort to appeal to the boy's desire for power. How could he have not foreseen this in the Council meeting? Perhaps he was overly concerned with the matter of presenting before the Council Asuma's adoption of Naruto.

Since the Council had approved both Danzou and Tsume and had further stipulated that they were to honor Sasuke's choice, Sarutobi had no choice but to allow a shared custody between Tsume and Danzou.

It was times like those that Sarutobi wished he still had Itachi serving him.

Sarutobi had not forgotten Itachi's warnings about Danzou – his message vividly etched in his mind.

_He had some of his ROOT agent infiltrate ANBU as his spies. He made no plan of complying with your order to disband ROOT. He is not to be trusted anymore. Please keep an eye on him._

And kept his eyes on him he had. Sarutobi was able to weed out most of the ROOT spies in ANBU. Those whose loyalty he was unsure of were assigned missions and duties that would not lead to a compromise in the safety of the village or undermine his authority or credibility as the Hokage.

The Hokage was not so naïve as to think that he had covered all bases and had unearthed Danzou's entire spy network. As a precautionary, he also assigned a few of his most trusted ANBU to spy on Danzou. There were some suspicious and questionable activities, such as private meetings with former ROOT agents and frequent purchases of expensive jewelry, but nothing definitively incriminating, though Sarutobi did note how some Clan Heads easily sided with Danzou on issues he had strong opinions on.

The cold war between Sarutobi and Danzou – all of their moves and countermoves – occurred behind scenes without the knowledge of the Clan Heads or the villagers. In many ways, both got what they had wanted – the war hawk got his war, and the pacifist got his peace.

Stuck in the middle of all the politics and maneuvering was Sasuke, who had certainly turned out to be an interesting kid. Twelve years old and already a low Chuunin level, or at least that was what he was leading people to believe. Sarutobi suspected his skills to be at least mid or high Chuunin; after all his older brother Itachi made ANBU captain at the tender age of thirteen. Under the strict training Danzou's ROOT offered, who was to say how strong Sasuke could become?

However, his skills were not what Sarutobi found interesting about the Uchiha survivor. It was his _appearance_ of being a jovial, carefree twelve-year-old who enjoyed training with Kiba, with his dog Chame, and on occasions with Naruto. Sarutobi hoped that what he saw in Sasuke on those rare sparring matches with Naruto – the occasional darkening of his countenance when Naruto had let slip a hint of his true skills – was just a figment of his imagination, but inwardly he knew otherwise.

_Damn you, Danzou!_

Sasuke was someone dear to Itachi. Watching over Sasuke, Itachi's beloved little brother, was the only thing he ever asked for in return for his loyal service to Konoha, performed at a great cost to himself.

Four years ago, Itachi had performed the greatest act of loyalty to Konoha, that of eliminating traitors who also happened to be his clan members. Not only that, but he also delivered valuable information about a new threat to Konoha – Madara and his organization, Akatsuki. Additionally, he had done something more for his now adopted grandson. He had stolen two powerful Kung Fu manuscripts and given them to the boy, though that may have had more to do with paying back the debt he felt he owed Uzumaki Kushina.

_Ah, Naruto…._

Sarutobi's thoughts brightened slightly when they wandered onto his adoptive grandson. Naruto had been a breath of fresh air to the Sarutobi clan. His harmless, but quite embarrassing – and usually hilarious – pranks brought an unmistakable energy and life back to the clan that had grown too serious to enjoy the finer things in life, especially since the Sandaime's inauguration. Naruto's cousin, Konohamaru, certainly enjoyed having Naruto as a "ni-san." Sarutobi could not imagine what his and Asuma's lives would be like now without the sun-kissed blond.

He supposed the same fondness for Naruto could be said of Asuma's romantic interest, Anko, who had been seen together with Asuma whenever they did not have missions outside of the village. Naruto and Anko, the two village pariahs, had hit it off instantly when they first met. They easily detected the figurative mask they each donned on in front of others and the desire to be acknowledged for who they were instead of being labeled due to things they had no control over. Anko often had a hand in Naruto's sword training, provided him with a sparring partner whose movement could be almost as unpredictable as Naruto could be using the Nine Stances.

Their other deviant "training sessions" consisted of Anko using Naruto as target practice. Naruto was to dodge Anko's barrage of kunais, senbons, and shurikens as nimbly as he could, while remaining in the circle drawn around him. Once Naruto was able to dodge all of Anko's weapons – some of his midair twists were simply so incredible that one would need to see him perform them to believe – she had him catch her weapons, instead of dodging them.

Sarutobi remembered one of those rare occasions that he had an afternoon off from his village duties. He had with him another set of scrolls on seals and chakra manipulation. At that time, Naruto was doing a lot of reading, delving into the theories of the how's and why's of seal and chakra techniques. Sarutobi firmly believed that his adoptive grandson would one day surpass the Yondaime, his biological father, a once-in-a-million genius. Naruto's studies in seals and chakra theories, starting at such a young age, would pave way for him to continue Minato's legacy – become a seal master and a jutsu inventor sans parallel.

When Sarutobi had arrived to the training ground, he had been shocked by the sight that greeted him. Naruto was catching Anko's kunai while struggling to remain in the circle. His movements were swift and graceful, though only a shadow of what he was capable of doing in his mindscape. The movements were, however, definite derivatives of the Nine Stances. It seemed to Sarutobi that Naruto was subconsciously incorporating his understanding of the Nine Stances into everything he was learning.

A year ago, Sarutobi had asked Anko about her opinion of Naruto's progress, of which she was more than just impressed. Anko was one of the few people with whom Naruto dropped his mask; the others were Sarutobi and Asuma. Therefore, Sarutobi knew that Anko's assessment of his grandson would be as close to Naruto's then true abilities as anyone was able to give. A low to mid Chuunin was where she assessed him at. Naruto was barely eleven at the time.

Every time he thought of Anko, Sarutobi could not help but feel guilty for somehow having failed her. Of course, he had never failed her as the Hokage by purposely sending her to suicide missions, despite much urging from the Council who wanted nothing but to rid the village of all remnant of the traitor Orochimaru – in this case, ridding the village of his apprentice and a fellow snake summoner.

His guilt lay in his failure as Orochimaru's sensei. If he had done a better job with Orochimaru, or killed his wayward student when he discovered him performing dangerous human experiments on fellow Leaf Shinobis, there was no telling how many lives would have been spared – not to mention how differently Anko would have been perceived by the village.

Taking another puff on his pipe, Sarutobi turned his thoughts onto Kyuubi.

He would never forget the first time he met her in Naruto's mindscape.

- Flashback -

"I wish you have those cool red eyes like Itachi. Then, you can join me and Kyuubi in my mindscape."

"I believe I have an idea that might work, even without the Sharingan."

Sarutobi was not called 'the god of the shinobis' for nothing. With knowledge of nearly every jutsu in Konoha, his aged hands made the necessary hand seals for a mind invasion jutsu and found himself standing with Naruto in front of the cage that housed the Nine-Tails.

"Sarutobi, to what do I owe this displeasure?" Kyuubi growled from within her cage, her gargantuan eyes glaring down at him.

"Hello, Kyuubi."

"It's 'Kyuubi no Kitsune' to you, you old prune! And if it wasn't for you correcting some of your mistakes recently, I would have crushed you with my paws by now."

A look of concern and confusion appeared on Naruto's face as he glanced back and forth between Sarutobi and Kyuubi. Finally he had enough of Kyuubi yelling at his grandfather and broke silence.

"Don't yell at Jiji anymore," he pleaded. "What mistakes are you talking about?"

Kyuubi softened her tone slightly in response to Naruto's bidding and replied, "Those mistakes are about you, you ingrate."

Despite her façade, Sarutobi could clearly see Kyuubi's concern for Naruto.

'_Looks like Naruto was correct about her.'_

"Thank you for watching over Naruto until I was able to rectify certain inadequacies. However, today, I'm here to …"

"I know why you are here," interrupted the Nine-tailed Fox. Transforming into her elegant human form, clothed in a white gown with red swirling patterns, she held in her hands those two manuscripts and continued, "You want to find out what's in these manuscripts and why Madara wants them so much, correct?"

Stunned by her beauty, Sarutobi could only nod dumbly. He tried not to ogle at her humanoid form, but failed miserably.

'_Naruto's description doesn't do her beauty justice.'_

"Jiji! Why are you looking at my sensei that way?"

Kyuubi smirked, satisfied that she still had such an effect on men, but her mind soon registered that the old pervert was undressing her with his eyes, and her righteous fury became evident in her voice.

"Naruto, reach in here and hand these over to that old fart and tell him to stop eye-stripping me."

"Jiji, what is eye-stripping? Is that a special doujutsu?" asked the curious blond when he handed the manuscripts to his grandfather.

"Uh," replied Sarutobi nervously, "you'll understand when you're older."

What Sarutobi read in those two manuscripts was nothing short of amazing. Even if Naruto could only do half of what they claimed those trained in them could do, he could easily end up among the top twenty Shinobis in the world. It was too incredible since there had never been any ninja techniques capable of a tenth of what was described in each of these two manuscripts; and Sarutobi, nicknamed 'The Professor,' would be a good judge of that.

The only way to confirm what these techniques could do was to see them both in action, but since Naruto had not mastered the Nine Yangs yet, the Professor settled for a sparring match: his monkey-style yari verses Naruto's Nine Stances sword.

"Naruto, let's spar. Show me the power of the Nine Stances."

He had wanted badly to see the Nine Stances in its mastery in action, having had doubts about whether or not his grandson was actually able to defeat Itachi. Even harder to believe was that he had Itachi so outclassed in kenjutsu that their weapons did not even clash.

"Alright, Jiji, but don't cry to Dad when you had your hinny handed to you by your grandson."

The first match with Sarutobi was the most challenging match Naruto had ever had in his mindscape. Sarutobi's fluid mastery and his experience put him in a whole different class above Itachi. His choice of a longer weapon also presented a challenge for Naruto, limited Naruto's sword reach. However in the end, the Nine Stances' Spear-Conquering Stance overcame Sarutobi's yari and monkey style attacks.

The second match, however, Naruto elected to match his grandfather's weapon with his own Yari and easily applied the Nine Stances to his longer weapon choice. The Nine Stances could easily be used with any choice of weapon and still be just as formidable as if they were performed with a sword. The creator of these stances, the Lonesome Hermit, at the acme of his skills, used nothing but tree branches, leaves, grass blades, or rocks to defeat his enemies. The application of the Nine Stances could only be limited by the user's degree of mastery and the vividness of his imagination.

The second match did not go as well for Naruto. In fact, it came as Naruto's first defeat in his mindscape.

Sarutobi had it figured out.

The Nine Stances technique was a reactionary attack technique, or at least that was as far as Naruto was able to apply it. The more advanced the opponents' attack patterns were, the more advanced the Nine Stances became. Sarutobi figured that if he was to limit his monkey style to just the very basics, then the Nine Stances would also revert to their basics as well.

Using this tactic, Sarutobi was able to catch Naruto off guard by switching between basic and advanced attack forms. Of course, this would never have worked if Sarutobi had not had the time to think of a way to defeat the Nine Stances. Also this would never have worked had Naruto been a student of at least one other sword technique, one not dependent on feeding off the attacks of its opponent. However, since Naruto had only learned how to react to attacks by attacking the weakness in the opponent's offense and had never been taught how to initiate attacks, he was quickly overcome by his grandfather.

- End Flashback -

Sarutobi took another puff as he concluded his inner musing on his first visit to Naruto's mindscape.

During these past four years, Naruto took to his training like a fish took to water. While Sarutobi focused on giving him scrolls detailing chakra and seal theories along with a variety of ninjutsus, Asuma provided him with physical training, such as jogging around Konoha and wearing chakra-enhanced weights.

The adopted blond was no longer the scrawny orange-wearing, loudmouth knucklehead. He had grown to a respectable height for boys his age, no longer wearing orange, and could remain cool and collected under pressure. He only _acted _like a knucklehead in front of others.

Finding a sensei to teach Naruto sword art had been challenging.

The foremost quality Sarutobi had looked at when selecting a trainer for his adoptive grandson was whether or not the person could maintain secrets and keep his nose out of where it was not welcomed. A curious trainer would ask too many questions, possible arousing others' suspicion or prompting them to do their own investigation. The Hokage definitely did not want any of Danzou's ROOT to get suspicious of Naruto's training with the Nine-Tails or to investigate into his true abilities.

Next to the importance of the trainer's ability to maintain absolute secrecy was his or her skill level in kenjutsu and genuine desire to help Naruto get stronger. Ideally, Itachi would be the best candidate, since he was the one best trained in the Uzumaki kenjutsu, trained by none other than Naruto's own mother. The next ones whom Kushina also had a hand in training were Uzuki Yuugao and Gekkou Hayate, among whom the Sandaime selected Yuugao, since she was already sworn in under the ANBU oath of secrecy.

Yuugao proved to be a good choice. Not only were her kenjutsu skills highly developed, she was also a person who sympathized with the jinchuuriki's childhood and cared for him as a person.

With another puff, Sarutobi's thoughts drifted to his son, the council, and the Chuunin Exam ahead in the horizon.

'_Naruto will become a Genin today. With Konoha hosting the Chuunin Exam in six months, Naruto will become a Chuunin in no time. Minato, soon, your long-awaited heir will be making his own marks among the Shinobi nations. Kami help them.'_

…o.0.O.0.o…

Yuugao was mindlessly making her way to the ANBU headquarter. Her thoughts were on Naruto, the past four years of her training him, and his Genin Exam.

In her mind, there was no doubt that Naruto would pass with flying colors. She was deep in thought because Naruto had specifically requested his grandfather to place him and Sasuke together in the same Genin team.

Sarutobi, Asuma, and Yuugao, all had asked Naruto why, with Yuugao looking for ways to talk Naruto out of electing to be teamed with Danzou's newest protégé.

Naruto's response was so that he could fulfill his promise to a friend, to watch over the Uchiha survivor. It appeared to Yuugao then that Sarutobi seemed aware of the promise Naruto was referring to and reluctantly agreed to his request.

'_It's been a week, and I still can't get Naruto to tell me whom he made the promise to.'_

At first, Yuugao was also reluctant to support Naruto's decision, but in the end she was left with no choice. These four years with Naruto had taught her that his promises would prove truer than gold.

With Naruto, 'a promise is a promise is a promise.' There was no talking him out of it. Such an honorable trait was commendable; though, Asuma did end the discussion with a stern caution against making promises on impulse, without thinking things through. He feared that this noble trait would become his son's Achilles heel.

Yuugao's thoughts traveled down the memory lane to four years ago when Asuma surprised her with an invitation to family dinner at the Sarutobi compound.

She was not sure what to make of his invitation. By then, Kurenai had already informed her that he was one of the perpetrators of the hot spring perversion. If it had not been for Kurenai there to calm down her fury and Anko there to inform her of their budding romance, Yuugao would have torn Asuma a new hole.

'_Lucky bastard.'_

Another thought came to her mind at the time: Such an invitation should have been extended to Anko, but if Asuma was going to cheat on her friend, then Yuugao would make a big stink about it at the family dinner.

However, all of Yuugao's suspicions were invalidated. The dinner invitation had been a guise to offer her a personal, secret mission from the Sandaime, one concerning a newly adopted blond – one Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto. That child had been on Yuugao's mind since the assumed death of Kushina, the person who taught her the Uzumaki family jutsus. Back when Kushina had offered them to her, she had not understood why anyone would be so willing to teach another person her family jutsus.

But, back then, with war and the possibility of more wars looming in the air, she was so eager to get stronger that she accepted Kushina's offer without the mind to ask for the details that would later plague her curiosity for years to come.

Sarutobi's words that night brought Yuugao her first attainable goal toward fulfillment regarding her sense of loss when it came to Kushina-sensei.

"_I want you to train Naruto and pass on to him his family jutsus like his mother would have liked had she been here to do so herself."_

Training him in his mother's fighting skills. Words could not describe how happy she was that night when Sarutobi told her that she would be secretly training Naruto in the Uzumaki techniques. Finally those techniques would be passed to their rightful heir.

Unfortunately, the offer brought with it another question to plague Yuugao: Was that the reason that Kushina had trained her in the Uzumaki family jutsus, because she had known all alone that something would prevent her from teaching them to her children?

"_One area I want you to focus on is the Uzumaki sword art."_

For reasons unknown to Yuugao, the Uzumaki sword art came easier for Naruto than the other family jutsus. She reasoned that perhaps it was because of the type of training he had with Anko. That was not to say that Naruto had a hard time learning the rest of the family jutsus. Surprisingly, Yuugao found that the boy was a good student material, as long as she showed him how to do it, instead of trying to explain it to him.

In addition to being an exceptional learner, there were times that Yuugao suspected that there was more to the blond jinchuuriki than what met the eyes. It did not happen often, and when it did, there was always enough circumstantial evidence to argue that it was a coincidence or a beginner's luck rather than Naruto having slipped his mask and fed into her suspicion that the blond was hiding the true depth of his abilities.

A good example of this happened while she was teaching him the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. While technically not an Uzumaki family jutsu, it was a favorite technique of Kushina's. It was while she was explaining the hand seals needed to perform the jutsu and its many applications that she saw it – the spark of understanding – in Naruto's eyes. But then it was gone just as quickly as it was detected, and Naruto reverted back to his show-it-to-me-first way of learning jutsus.

Furthermore, when her not-yet-a-Genin blond student practiced the jutsu, he made three perfect Jounin-level Kage Bunshins on his first try, all without breaking a sweat. Yuugao was convinced that _that_ was not just because he was Kushina's son. Maybe it was because the Nine-Tails sealed in him, but still, he was not overpumping the jutsu with chakra. In fact, on that very first try when he created those three Kage Bunshins, he apportioned his chakra with the precision control of a medic-nin. Not a gram of chakra – not even a single milligram – was wasted.

'_Could it be the genes, or are you hiding something, Naruto?'_

She began to believe that what she saw was not a fluke but rather a rare occasion that Naruto had let slip a hint of his true abilities. After all, how dumb could the boy be if he kept getting new jutsu scrolls from the Hokage every few weeks? Of them, she figured, even if he was only able to master half, he would already have a repertoire of techniques that would make most Chuunins jealous. Then again, she could very well be underestimating his ability to learn by merely reading from the scrolls.

Though she had no way to assess Naruto's true strength, she was even more clueless when it came to Sasuke, which was what got her worried.

Finally, she arrived at her destination.

As it had been her custom upon entering the ANBU complex, she headed to the lounge, hoping to find the person she was looking for, and she did.

Anko. The skimpily dressed interrogator saw Yuugao eying her as she walked in. A smirk appeared on her face.

"Like what you see?"

"Sorry, Anko-_chan_, I don't swing that way," replied Yuugao, a little embarrassed by the implication of that remark. "Besides, aren't you already taken?"

"True, but it doesn't feel that way this week," said the new arrival with a sigh. Her playful smirk turned into a dejected frown.

"Hm," Yuugao asked, "trouble in paradise?"

"Urgh! I wish. At least there's the make-up sex to go along," said Anko, making obvious the reason of her frustration. "He's been really busy training Naruto the past week. Saying something about "needing to take things more seriously." He's been obsessing about training son since he returned from his mission to a civilian village near the Water Country."

"Oh," remarked Yuugao. Normally she or Kurenai would be quick to tease Anko about her relationship with Asuma, especially having an opportunity as good as this landing before her; however, at the moment, her mind was still thinking about Naruto's promise to watch over Sasuke.

Since Naruto's unusual request last week, Yuugao had narrowed down the possible candidates that Naruto could have made the promise to, namely, Kakashi, Itachi, and Danzou.

Kakashi, because his feelings of indebtedness for his deceased teammate Uchiha Obito might be transferred to the sole Uchiha survivor; Itachi, because he did not kill his brother during the massacre and could have wanted someone to watch over Sasuke; Danzou, because he had invested four years of training on his Sharingan protégé.

Of them, Itachi remained prime suspect number one.

After finding the right question to ask so she could verify her conjecture, she directed it at Anko.

"Do you think it's possible for someone as highly targeted as Itachi to enter and leave Konoha without being detected?"

"I suppose. Why? What's on your mind?" asked Anko. She knew that there was something wrong with her friend when the anticipated opportunistic insults about her personal life never came.

"Nothing. I have couple of things I'm trying to piece together. That's all," said Yuugao. She wanted to run something by Anko, but she had yet to gather enough facts to support her idea, much less even to present it. After all, her theory about there being more to Itachi than merely a traitor was purely based on assumptions. If she was to present it to anyone, she would want to be able to support it with more than mere assumptions.

"By the way, heard anything about Itachi? Have they ever sent any hunter-nins after him?"

"No," replied Anko.

Of course, Anko as an interrogation specialist knew that Yuugao was keeping something big from her. Her loyalty to Konoha demanded that she ask the one question she hoped that her friends would always answer NO to.

"You're not thinking about betraying Konoha, are you?"

"What!?" exclaimed Yuugao in disbelief. She realized that she had to divulge what the situation was; otherwise, Anko might bring her to Ibiki. "Oh, you got it all wrong. The reason behind my question actually concerns Naruto. See, Naruto said he wanted to be placed on the same team as Sasuke because of a promise he made with someone. I'm just trying to figure out who what someone was."

"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to go all patriotic on you. By the way, did you say that the little dweeb requested to be placed on the same team with Sasuke? Did he request that I be his Jounin-sensei, or was he only focused on that mutt boy? He probably forgot, didn't he?"

By the end of her rant, Anko was self-perpetuating her own anger and became too angry at Naruto to wait for Yuugao to respond. She stood up abruptly and continued to mumble as she took her leave to find Naruto. Yuugao could still hear the words "I'll strip him naked and hang him upside down in the girls bathroom" ringing in her ears after Anko had been long gone.

She wanted to go after her and tell her that Naruto _did_ ask, but she was afraid that a calmed-down Anko might ask her more questions she was not yet ready to answer. Besides, Naruto the Prankmaster getting humiliated in front of his peers might make him think twice about pulling another prank again.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In an undisclosed area, the man with a single eyehole orange mask sat alone in a cave, pondered over his plans with his group of missing-nins, especially on a certain traitor who left the organization four years ago, Orochimaru.

- Flashback -

"Kabuto, I have a new mission for you," said Madara. His tone hinted him nursing a wounded pride. Pein had initially opposed having Orochimaru added to the roster, citing Orochimaru's traitorous ways, but Madara pressed onward with adding him. Now, Pein took every opportunity to remind him that he alone bore this responsibility of his betrayal. His wounded pride easily turned into a need to exact revenge.

"I'm at your service, Madara-sama."

"It involves the Akatsuki traitor, Orochimaru. He recently left the organization to pursue his own plans. In addition to your continued services spying in Konoha, I want you to spy on Orochimaru as well. First, become his subordinate, and then gain his trust."

"Wouldn't it be easier to kill him? Isn't that the punishment for betraying you?" asked Kabuto, who was all too eager to repay his master.

"He _will_ pay for the inconvenience and the loss of time that he caused me in the recruitment of another member. He knows too much about our organization and our plans. His betrayal will be dealt with, but, no, not yet. He'll still serve my purpose."

"You want him to attack Konoha?"

"Yes, looks like I've raised you well," replied Madara with a hardy laugh. "I want you to hide your true abilities and present yourself as someone he's looking for – a capable medic-nin."

"As you wish, Master."

"By the way, don't over do it when you're sowing into him the idea of attacking Konoha. If anything, that snake hates to be manipulated. So you must do so while letting him believe that it was his idea all along. Take your time. However, I expect you to have him attack Konoha in exactly four years time."

"Why four years, Madara-sama?" asked Kabuto as he shifted his specs higher on the bridge of his nose. "Does it have anything to do with your plans for Sasuke-kun?"

"Well, well! You turned out to be a smart one, didn't you?" said Madara while thinking, _'Maybe a little too smart for your own good.'_

Pausing, through the lone eyehole of his orange mask, he pierced sternly at the young man that came under his care as a five-year-old child. He continued, "Make sure that you are smart enough to remain loyal to me … I would hate to have to destroy a sculpture that I've been carving for ten years."

"Yes, Master, I could never forget the kindness you've shown in raising me."

"Good. Dismissed."

- End Flashback -

"Konoha, the tides have turned against you. Wong of the Monastery, my time has come. Just you wait."

**A/N: **Don't forget to leave a review. Also, check out my other story, **Naruto: A Different Beginning**. Thanks!


	8. Qi Training 101 Naruto v Kyuubi

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 8: Qi Training 101 – Naruto vs. Kyuubi**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N:** Hi readers and reviewers. Again, my thanks to KyLewin for beta'ing.

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts, the three Junior Abbots each gathered their own five apprentices, as they had been accustomed to doing for the past four years.

Junior Abbot Feng gathered his students in the center courtyard, seated in lotus position.

"First Apprentice, have your fellow apprentice brothers mastered the lessons of Qi as learned through the flight of an eagle?"

The tallest of the five bowed and replied, "Yes, Abbot Feng. They have recently mastered them, and we are now working on incorporating those lessons into their Zodiac Kung Fu."

The Zodiac Kung Fu was the most comprehensive hand-to-hand combat technique to ever grace the mortal realm. It consisted of stances patterned after the movements of the twelve animals in the Chinese Zodiac, including the movements of the mythical dragon.

To be able to amplify one's strength with the flow of Qi while executing the Zodiac was no small feat. A few words of commendation were in order.

"Excellent. Since you've learned how to channel Qi properly, you've probably noticed how your Kung Fu skills have suddenly progressed in leaps and bounds. However, you still need many more years of meditation and practice before you achieve a complete oneness of your Kung Fu with the flow of Qi. But don't worry, that will come in time. Meanwhile, I want you to continue practicing against each other, perfecting your Zodiac Kung Fu. Remember the Grand Master Abbot's warning from four years ago – we could be under attack from the Masked Shadow and his cohorts at any time."

His five apprentices replied in unison, "Yes, Abbot Feng!"

"Good," said Feng as a proud smile accentuated his kind and serene face. Then he blinked his eyes, and his smile softened slightly while he channeled a warm but powerful Qi that encased their gathering. His Qi permeated into his apprentices and stirred the Qi that was innate in them.

The five teenagers immediately felt the effects of their teacher's Qi Infusion Technique. Closing their own eyes, they quickly assembled into sitting lotus and shifted their inner energies to absorb Feng's gift to them.

Once they were done, they opened their eyes and performed a Buddhist ceremonial obeisance to thank their teacher.

Feng sagely raised his right hand to acknowledge their bow and said, "No need. Now, I need you to pay attention to what I am teaching you next. This could save your life one day."

Immediately, he had every apprentice's attention.

"Have you noticed how the birds remain aware of their surroundings in their sleep?"

The First Apprentice replied, "Birds keep a third of their brain awake in their sleep to monitor their surroundings through their visual and audio sensory."

"Good," commended Feng with a small nod, his shaved bald head momentarily reflected sun glare onto the eyes of the five sitting before him. "Though you can't make a human brain do the same, you can channel Qi to your eyes and ears before you sleep, and it will monitor your surroundings and alert you to action when necessary."

The Fourth Apprentice frowned as he asked, "That sounds great, but how do we continue to channel Qi when we're asleep?"

"By using a technique that Master Wu of Mt. WuDang left as a parting gift four years ago before our honorable Grand Master Abbot sent him off to search for the prophesied Guardian of the Two Nines…."

"Excuse me, Abbot Feng," interrupted the youngest apprentice. "I was not aware that Master Wu had been here, much less that he had left for his search. All this time I thought he was too high-nosed to accept the Grand Master Abbot's invitation to our Monastery."

"Actually, he came as quickly as he could after receiving our message. His art of levitation was quite advanced and made the long trip in two days, covering a distance that regular martial artists would need two weeks to do. I don't think the Grand Master Abbot himself could have covered that distance any faster. Master Wu left the very next day after he had finished discussing the Prophecy with the Grand Master Abbot," replied Feng.

With a sigh of relief, the boy continued, "Does that mean we don't have to worry about pranks?"

Feng was puzzled at the oddity of the lack of pranks, then he remembered what happened. "Now that you've mentioned pranks, I do seem to recall hearing him mutter something about some dumb apprentice stepped into a trap he had intended for Master Wong."

While everyone was guessing what that prank might have been and who the dumb apprentice was, the youngest apprentice volunteered with embarrassment, just realized that the 'accident' he had experienced four years ago was actually Master Wu's prank.

"Uh... I think I might have accidentally stepped into the trap intended for our Grand Master Abbot."

"I bet it had something to do with food," suggested the boy seated closest to Feng, taking a small shot at the Fifth Apprentice's ferocious appetite. Some light, slightly muffled snickers could be heard.

"Well, Fifth Apprentice Brother, would you tell us what happened already?" urged the two older boys seated on both side of him.

"Wait. I know," said the eager boy seated behind the Fifth Apprentice. "Were you the one that fell into the pit while trying to get the red bean buns sacrificed to Buddha?"

"And didn't the accident set off a domino fall of the Buddha statues?" asked another boy.

"I was trying to get the buns for the Grand Master Abbot," defended the Fifth Apprentice. "They're his favorite."

"Sure you were," came the unison cries from his apprentice brothers as they snickered at his misfortune.

"Abbot Feng, can we please continue with our lesson?" pleaded the desperate boy, as the humiliating prank played over and over in his mind.

Feng smiled kindly at him and gave a small nod as he called his apprentices back to the subject at hand. He enjoyed jokes and teasing as much as anyone, though his students rarely saw it, but there were far more important matters for them to discuss than one poor boy's voracious appetite and propensity for making a fool of himself.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Umino Iruka was not happy at the moment. He had been staring at the student profiles for quite a long time. It was now way past midnight, and yet he was still having a difficult time deciding what to do about this graduating class.

Ever since the Sandaime reformed the Academy four years ago after the 'defect' of Uchiha Itachi, Iruka's job had been a living hell at the end of every school year. No longer was he able to simply graduate the students based on their exam scores and pass them off to be tested for teamwork by their Jounin-senseis.

After the loss of a whole platoon of elite ninjas to the Uchiha Massacre, the Academy adopted the enhanced and more rigorous curriculum designed to quickly replenish Konoha of capable ninjas.

Added to the mix, there had been a steady increase in the need for more security, especially when the Hokage kept hinting a possible attack from an unknown enemy – someone known by the name of "Masked Shadow."

Gone were the days of Jounin-senseis handholding the Genin grads on how to work together as a team. Their time was more valuable spent elsewhere.

Fittingly, the reformation called for the Academy teachers, instead of the Jounin-senseis, to determine who were "cut out" to be ninjas. It was a logical way to conclude the year.

Determining whom to promote to Genin was not what made Iruka's job difficult this year. His frustration lay in the process of team selection. He started by grouping together the obvious choices. Ino-Cho-Shika was easy for him to bundle together as a team. Naruto and Sasuke, the co-rookies of the year, would have to be grouped together, per the Hokage's directive. However, what to do with the remaining four Genin-grads – Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura – was what kept Iruka late at the Academy.

Logic told Iruka to form a tracker team with Kiba, Shino, and Hinata, but Kiba's mom had made a personal request of him to keep Kiba and Sasuke together, if at all possible.

"It would have been so much easier if I can separate the two rookies of the year, and make it a Kiba-Sasuke-Sakura team," Iruka sighed. "As it is now, I can't put Kiba and Sasuke together, along with Naruto. It would leave the leftover team too unbalanced to survive their first real mission."

On his desk, he fished out two sheets of proposals from the randomly scattered leaflets on his desk. With a sweep of a hand, he dumped the rest his scribbles into the wastebasket and plopped his head onto the desk while thinking to himself, _'I'll present these two options to Hokage-sama in the morning.'_

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto woke up to the melody of birds chirping outside his window. Today would be the day he found out who his third teammate would be.

As excited as he should be for such news, it was not why he was so eager to get out of bed this morning.

For the past four years, he had been working off and on with his adoptive father on the Kung Fu learnt from the Guardian Monks. Surprisingly, Asuma turned out to be quite knowledgeable in hand-to-hand combat and had learned enough from the Monks during his two-year training mission to satiate the boy's ferocious appetite for anything Kung Fu.

However, one thing that continued to frustrate Naruto these past four years was how Asuma kept delaying teaching him how to channel Qi.

Today would be different. Asuma had lost a bet to Naruto and was now honor bound to teach him. This time there would be no wiggling out of it, no last minute "missions" that seemed to mysteriously crop up whenever Naruto's arguments for why he should learn it were particularly sound, and no important dates with Anko that had to be kept.

Naruto rubbed his eyes to rid them of their sleep residue and made a shadow clone. He quickly dispatched it to the Academy while his original self got dressed and went to look for his adopted father on their private training ground.

Asuma could be found leaning against a tree, smoking his usual minty cigarette. He too sent a clone to the Academy. While most Jounin-senseis sparred with their students to gauge their skills, he had always taken it easy on the first day, focusing on getting to know the students' personalities in lieu of seeing what jutsus they could perform. A clone could easily fulfill such a light duty, and when it dissipated, its knowledge would return to the original.

His inner musing was soon interrupted by the sound of a metallic projectile cutting through air as his left hand caught a kunai aimed at his right shoulders.

Just when he was going to chide his protégé about how foolish it was to announce his location with a flying kunai, he felt another 'Naruto' landed a straight open palm thrust on his sternum.

As Naruto witnessed his adoptive father doubling over from the hit, he felt a piece of sharp, cold steel pressed against his throat.

"Heh, I'm not done yet, Dad," he said before he dissipated along with the Asuma clone that he hit, leaving the kunai-holding Asuma by himself, on alert, looking left and right.

Naruto took to Kage Bunshin like fish to water. After Yuugao taught it to him, he had used it at every opportunity until it became second nature. He had been pretty good at it even before all of the practice, having always been inclined towards ninjutsu abilities and usually very quick to figure them out. Of course, having an abundant amount of chakra so as not to feel the drain of the jutsu did not hurt either.

Due to Naruto using it so much during their sparring matches, Asuma got quite proficient with Kage Bunshin as well. Before Naruto started using it, he rarely incorporated that jutsu into his combat repertoire, but now it was practically an old habit.

After what seemed like a long time of nothingness, Asuma saw a boy's shadow emerged from the woods located to his far left, blocking him from the blindingly bright morning sun. The boy walked slowly towards him; in his right hand was his sword, unsheathed, and in his left, its sheath.

"Naruto, do you want to learn how to channel Qi, or not?" Asuma shouted across the field; his eyes never left the approaching shadow. "You know how long it usually takes us to finish…."

Before he voiced the rest of his complaint, he ducked a sword swing and drew forth his knuckle knives charged with his wind chakra to swing behind him, where he perceived a Naruto clone had attacked from.

In a distance, the shadow boy looked on with amusement on his face as his clone sparred with Asuma, only for his smile to turn into a frown. Naruto spun to his left, swinging his sheath with his spun, aiming it for the eyes of his mentor, whose real self was standing behind him.

Asuma brought his left hand in attempt to block Naruto's swing, but the anticipated swing never came. He turned his head to stare inquisitively at Naruto and saw him sheathing his sword. Just when he was about to ask his adopted son why, he felt it too and spoke up.

"You know it's not nice to spy on fellow Leaf-nins. Plus, what business do you have on our _private_ training ground?" Asuma's emphasis on the word _private_ carried a warning tone to the one spying on them.

Out came a girl wearing a Chinese-style pink vest. Her brunette hair was rolled into two hair buns, one on each side of her head.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to spy on you…."

Naruto's clone, who had been keeping an eye on her while she watched the sparring match, walked up behind her and interrupted her attempt to explain herself.

"Actually, you did," said his clone before dispersing itself.

The brunette turned around to the source of that voice, but only found a smoky remnant typical of a dispelled clone. She was completely shocked that someone a year younger had been able to sneak up on her from behind. Even more impressive was the fact that he'd done it with a shadow clone. To have such mastery over a Jounin level technique at his age was incredible.

'_He's good … in fact, too good to be fresh out of the Academy.'_

While young kunoichi was looking for the clone behind her, the real Naruto walked up to her to introduce himself.

When she turned back to Asuma and Naruto to get a better look at the boy whose sword art captured her attention a moment ago, she came face to face with the real Naruto. He was actually standing so close to her that their noses were nearly touching. Her brown eyes widened and she rocked back on her heels in surprise, but didn't step away from him despite the invasion of her personal space. In fact, she _couldn't_ step away from him. She was completely mesmerized by his cerulean blue eyes, his untamable spiky blond hair, and his ferial birthmark whiskers.

Naruto was unsure of what to make of the intruder. She was the first girl he met that looked and carried herself like a kunoichi, at least from what his clone had observed when it discovered her spying. Though he knew that Hinata took her training seriously, his blue-haired classmate lacked the assertiveness of the brunette before him.

Asuma raised his eyebrows, amused at the scene before him and noted how his clueless adopted son was embarrassing the girl. He then saw the blush on the girl's cheeks deepened as she stumbled to formulate words to explain why she was there in the first place.

"Uh … well…" her mind drew a blank. Those two words were actually the closest she was coming to an intelligent response to Naruto's accusation. He just kept staring at her with those eyes, and the longer it went on, the more difficult it seemed for her to form any coherent thoughts.

Tenten was not the fan-girl type and was by far one of the most promising kunoichis to come out of the Academy since Anko and Yuugao. However, she could not help but behave this way at the moment because this was the first time she had been this close to a boy. Her being a budding thirteen-year-old with raging hormones did not help the matter either.

Asuma decided to spare the poor girl from further embarrassment for the moment and asked, "Does that scroll in your pouch have anything to do with why you're here?"

She let out the breath she'd been holding and said, "Oh yeah." Though she was breathing once more and had regained some control over her brain, she remained mesmerized by the boy's eyes. Somehow she managed to say, "The Hokage gave my team a D-rank mission to locate you, Yuugao, and Anko. I thought you would be at the Academy or spending time with your Genin team, but the Hokage told me to come here instead."

"Me?" asked a puzzled Naruto, pointing his finger to himself.

The brunette-haired girl, who had been unaware that she was still staring into the eyes of the blond in front of her while answering Asuma's question, covered her mouth and shook her head. She was beyond feeling embarrassed at the moment, so much so that she lost all confidence in what to say or do. Never before had she acted so unprofessionally, falling so short of her own standard of what a kunoichi should be, while she was on duty.

Learning that the girl was not a threat or a spy from Danzou cast her in a favored light with the blond. Now he looked at her again, this time appreciating her plain, but attractive attire, her keen, trained, but gentle brown eyes, and her tiny, adorable pink lips.

There was one thing that puzzled Naruto, though. _'Why is her face red like Hinata's?'_

"No," Asuma came to her rescue again. "I think it's me that the Hokage wants. By the way, Naruto, this girl is Tenten, she is Maito Gai's student and graduated from the Academy last year. Tenten, this is Naruto, my adopted son. Tenten, knowing Gai, he probably had his students split up to see who can find us three first. If we hurry, we may beat your teammates, though with one of them a Hyuuga, I doubt you'll claim first."

"But Dad, we're supposed to…." Naruto left that sentence unfinished; he knew better than to give away more information about himself to a stranger than he already had. He filed away the information about Tenten's Hyuuga teammate for later.

Not missing a beat, Asuma quickly added, "I know, I'll leave a clone with you."

"But I want the real you…." Naruto began to whine.

"Stop whining. You sound like Konohamaru when you do that. You're a Genin of Konoha now, and, in the eyes of many, an adult. When your team or mine receives missions that take us outside of the village, we'll be seeing each other even less."

"I know that Dad," said the slightly downhearted blond, "that's what makes our time together now much more precious."

'_Yes, Naruto, these moments are indeed getting more and more precious,' _Asuma reflected on how fast the Chuunin Exam was approaching. If Naruto became a Chuunin – and there was little reason to believe that he would not – he would be told about his real parents, and all the cards would be on the table. _'Will you still treasure our time together once you learn of your true heritage?'_

"Alright, Naruto, my clone will go with Tenten. But before they leave, you should tell her what you think of her."

Tenten, who had been listening attentively to their interchange and observing the deep fondness between the boy and his adoptive father, was caught off guard by Asuma's last remark.

"What do you mean what he thinks of me?" asked Tenten with an even more crimson blush, trying to hide both her nervousness and excitement to hear Naruto's answer.

She was more than intrigued by the boy in front of her. Before meeting him in person, she had already heard more than she cared to from the girls in the village about this young, good looking blond who graduated the top of his class. Rumors from most shinobi adults and girls around her age were quite favorable, but the ones from some of the civilian populace were, to put it mildly, quite derogatory in nature, calling him names such as "Demon Bastard" and "Yondaime Killer."

Asuma's comment was not innocent in nature. He _intentionally_ wanted to further Tenten's embarrassment. It served her right for spying on them. However, he knew that his naïve son would wrongly assume that he was being asked, 'Do you think trust her? If so, tell her it's okay to join our training some time.'

'_Ha, that'll teach you,'_ thought Asuma to himself while he said to Naruto, "Well, son, what are you, shy? Tell her what you think of her."

Naruto, unsure of what just happened during the little exchange between Asuma and Tenten, tilted his head and gave them a slightly puzzled look. After a moment, he gave a small shrug and said, "Oh, I think you're okay, Tenten. Come train with us anytime. But don't sneak in next time. We don't take kindly to unannounced visitors."

Now Tenten was even more flabbergasted. She was expecting "She looks like a serious kunoichi to me" or, if he was somewhat bold, "I like her cute hair style." She certainly was not expecting Naruto to outright ask her out on what could be considered a date. She looked at the boy and found no pretense on his face, then looked at Asuma, trying to decipher his facial expression.

"Hehe, don't worry, Tenten," Asuma said with the best straight face he could muster. "My clone will explain on the way."

After Tenten left with his clone, Asuma said, "I didn't think it's possible that a person's face can turn so red."

"Yeah, about that, do you know why girls do that?" asked Naruto. "Three girls in my class do that all the time. Hinata-hime sometimes looks like a tomato in a blue wig! I've even seen a couple of girls in the village get that way when I try to talk to them. It's weird."

Asuma did his best not to smile too smugly. It would not do to spoil the fun just yet.

"Well, since it's about girls, I think you should get an answer from one," he suggested as innocently as he could muster.

"You mean, like Anko?" asked Naruto, horrified at the thought of asking her. He had never considered her the type he would go to for advice on relationships.

"No, I meant your other female sensei, Yuugao," replied Asuma. Inwardly he mused to himself, _'Naruto and Yuugao would make a good couple, if only they're closer together in age. Nevertheless, Naruto needs someone older to guide him through his emotions and give him advice about girls. It's just unfortunate that Anko, whom Naruto relates well to, is not the type for this sort of thing.'_

"Maybe later, but let's get to our Qi training. You'll teach me this time, right, Dad?"

"Of course, I lost our bet, didn't I?"

As Asuma said that, he motioned Naruto to follow him. They leapt out of the Sarutobi compound to a secluded forest nearby. One thing about Konoha was that there was always a forest nearby. The one that they went to had a lake and a waterfall.

"Um, I think you've let me win on that one," Naruto deduced out loud. "I mean, it was my first time playing poker, so how could I possibly have beaten you? You probably just wanted to teach me Qi as much as I want to learn it by then. That, or you were tired of hearing me asking for it every … single … day."

Asuma had been avoiding this particular subject not because he lacked the desire to teach Naruto or felt that it was too difficult for the boy to learn; but rather, it was because he himself was never able to channel Qi. He had only learned the theory of how it worked, but _knowing_ how to do it was quite different than _being_ able to do it.

"Well, that was true to some extent, but trust me when I say that you won that hand of poker all on your own. Some people just have all the luck." _Just like your mother._

…o.0.O.0.o…

Part of what made Konoha the most powerful of the hidden villages was her near impenetrable defense. The first layer, and the one that most intruders neglected to look for, was an invisible, spectral spherical barrier protecting the hidden village from invasion of all sides, including from above. Any intruders would be immediately detected.

The few who were able to go through the barrier undetected had to have been very good or very familiar with the barrier. Kabuto, whom Orochimaru had taught how to do so, fell into the latter category. Madara the Masked Shadow, who had been with Konoha since her founding, was with the former category. The stranger standing on top of the Hokage Monument, namely on top of the Shodaime's head, also belonged to the former.

Looking below from where he stood, he saw a bustling village, one with the latest of conveniences, fashion and things that money could purchase. He felt a little out of place. The scene before him was definitely different than the modest Taoist temples or Buddhist monasteries that he was used to seeing.

With his right hand, he held his trusty sword up to shield part of the sun as he looked into the sky. "It's almost noon," he concluded.

Taking a deep whiff of the appetizing aroma coming from the restaurants below hustling to prepare for the lunch hour rush, he decided on visiting the small ramen bar to start. All that traveling, and a few days of living in the wilderness since he left the last village he stopped at, the swordsman had worked up quite a healthy appetite for civilized food.

"There seems to be a good place to listen in to the town happenings," he said to himself as he pointed his sword towards the nearby lantern with the Ichiraku kanji. "After this, I'll visit Old Man Flying Monkey."

He had always found it amusing to translate the Japanese names into his own language.

With a single leap off the Shodaime's head, he launched into sky, his legs moving as if they were treading in air, and landed in front of his destination. Even though his aerial display was slightly ostentatious, he remained careful not to be detected. He was not a master of stealth for nothing.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Iruka arrived late to class and was greeted by a rowdier than usual crowd. He did not blame the students, though. After all, they had been waiting an hour for him to arrive with their grades and team assignments.

The slightly-out-of-breath Chuunin came as soon as he was done meeting with the Hokage. In addition to discussing his proposed team assignments for the Sandaime's approval, he was also learning about the betrayal of his co-instructor, Mizuki, who got caught trying to steal the scroll of forbidden techniques the previous night.

Refocusing his mind to the tasks at hand, Iruka hushed the restless twelve-year-olds and prepared himself to address them one last time as their Academy instructor.

"Please be seated. First, I must congratulate you for your earnest efforts throughout your years in Ninja Academy. You all should be proud of your achievements, regardless of whether you've made Genin today; I know I am of you."

He took in a deep solemn breath, like he had often done when delivering the next part, and said, "As you already know, finishing the school curriculum does not guarantee you a Genin placement. Genin, like all shinobi ranks, is earned and only granted to those who are qualified for it. Unfortunately, not everyone is."

Iruka paused and noticed that his students were hanging on his every word, eagerly longing for each syllable that was uttered from his mouth – with the exceptions of the emotionless Aburame and the sleepy Nara. He sighed, _'If only I could get them to pay attention like this during my history lectures.'_

Some of the girls shot what they hoped was not their last look at Sasuke and Naruto – in this case, his clone – and wondered if they would continue with their ninja career and hopefully be placed in one of their teams.

Among those girls were Sakura and Ino, who had been daydreaming about doing their victory dance when they were placed on either Sasuke or Naruto's team.

"This year only nine of you have met those qualifications. The ones that I called are to remain in class and wait for their Jounin-senseis. Those whose names I did not call, please be dismissed. You may go to the admissions office if you wish to get another chance by enrolling to repeat your final year."

The class reacted to his announcement with a few frantic look-arounds and light whispers. The children echoed the phrase "only nine" with shock.

Iruka continued, "Team Ten consists of Nara Shikamaru, Yamaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji. Your Jounin-sensei is Sarutobi Asuma …."

"No!" shouted Ino, interrupting Iruka's announcement. She promptly stood and pointed her finger at the boy whose spiky ponytail gave his hair a distinct pineapple shape to it, though it was hard to tell with his head still slumped on his desk, and a spiky-haired brunet who just finished his tenth bag of potato chips. "Why do I get stuck with both a lazy bum _and_ an eating machine on my team? I should be on either Naruto or Sasuke's team."

Sasuke gave Ino, who was standing next to him, a deadly cold stare. She felt his eyes on her, turned to look at him, and instantly fell silent. It was the first time she almost wished she had not beaten Sakura to take the seat next to Sasuke. The raven-haired boy then kept his stare on the platinum blonde until she sat back down. Once she did, Sasuke resumed patting Chame and turned his head towards the front, waiting for his own team to be announced.

The Naruto clone, who had turned its head toward Ino's cry, witnessed the disturbing scene and mentally filed it away to discuss with his adoptive grandfather later.

"Team Eight consists of Aburame Shino, …."

…o.0.O.0.o…

'_Qi is like a river that flows freely into the sea that is never full. To the place from which Qi comes, to there and from there, it, like the river, returns again.'_

Asuma's words echoed in Naruto's mind. In his boxers he sat on a rock underneath a small waterfall. The waters hammered the twelve-year-old's head and cascaded over his body as he continued his meditation.

'_To learn Qi, you must clear your mind of all things. All that defines you, your existence, must be deadened. Your everything – your laughter, your sorrow, your happiness, your sadness, your triumph, your failure, your love, your hatred, your peace, your anger, your thoughts – must become nothing. Only then can you feel and harness Qi, or the natural energy that has always been around you, inside you, constantly going in and out of you.'_

While Naruto trained under the waterfall, Asuma stood on the shore, looking on and remembering how difficult it was for him when he tried it with the Guardian Monks.

They had told him that it would have been easier if he had started younger. He certainly hoped so, for Naruto's sake.

The last thing Asuma had told his adopted son before he went under the waterfall was for him to imagine the water washing everything off of him. Once Naruto could no longer feel the cold pounding water or hear the thunderous splashes, he would have completed this first part of the Qi training.

It took Naruto a long time to transcend his mind over being under the heavy pounding, hearing the roaring waterfall, and feeling the freezing coldness. Once he entered into the meditative state, he systematically sorted through his emotions and memories and temporarily removed everything that defined his existence from his consciousness.

The firsts of the emotions that went were the pain and suffering he had experienced in his earlier years. He had never wanted to hold on to those memories anyway. Slowly, other emotions and memories washed off of him.

'_Though I'm sure there are things you wish to erase from you forever, once you've stopped this exercise, everything will come into existence again.'_

A couple of hours later, Naruto was successful in emptying everything out of him – everything that was _his_ to empty, he emptied. Only one thing remained on the blond's mind, and it was not his to remove – Kyuubi.

Naruto now stood in a vast space of emptiness. It was not white or black; it was simply nothingness, void of anything, except the tailed beast sealed inside him.

An odd image of his prisoner held inside a gigantic cage in the middle of a vast emptiness appeared before Naruto.

This was not the first time Naruto had come to his mindscape on his own accord. He appeared before the transformed humanoid as he had often done since that life-changing night at his first Sarutobi dinner.

"Kyuubi-sensei."

The student sought out the teacher as much as she did him. They often engaged in hours of conversation, discussing the scrolls he had read from the Sarutobi library or the manuscripts on the Nine Stances and the Nine Yangs.

"Naruto, I've sensed your arrival. Are you here to bask in my abundant knowledge of the Nine Yangs again?" asked the proudest of all tailed beasts. She had transformed into her elegant, beautiful form as a habit since she had often done so to access either of the two ancient manuals that were currently in her safekeeping.

After four years of spending time with his prisoner, Naruto had gotten quite accustomed to Kyuubi's personalities, and at times, found them amusing. Now, however, he knew that the humanoid was delaying for what was to happen next.

He replied, "Since you already know that this training requires me to clear my mind of all things, including you, I'm here to inquire how I can do so. Please tell me what needs to be done."

With a deep sigh, Kyuubi said, "You're correct young one, I was delaying this. For you to advance in your training, you must understand the consequences of doing so."

"Consequences?" asked her vessel with a puzzled face.

"Yes, consequences," confirmed the humanoid. "Once you do this, you cannot turn back."

Naruto became slightly nervous and said, "But Asuma said that I'll get everything back once I stop my meditation." He did not really want to lose everything that defined him human.

"You'll indeed get all that you humans value back – your emotions, dreams, and memories – once you've either quit this child's play of an exercise or moved on to the second stage of your training, but what I'm talking about now is more involved than an effortless mind-clearing exercise that you humans do."

"Effortless?" repeated Naruto, incredulous that someone could call something that took him hours to get to where he was at and that his adoptive father was unable to accomplish as _effortless._

Ignoring Naruto's pointless comments as she had often done in their past encounters, Kyuubi continued explaining from where she had left off.

"I'm sure that you remembered when that Old Prune grandfather of yours explained to you the workings of the blasted seals that the damnable Yondaime used to seal me into you."

The twelve-year-old rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Of course I remember, and stop calling Jiji that!" There was no anger or even real irritation in his voice; he had already gotten used to hearing her calling Sarutobi that a while ago. His reactions now were merely out of habit.

Kyuubi snickered and continued, "Now, what would happen if you were to peel that seal off the cage?"

"Nice try, but I'm not going to remove the seal," said Naruto.

"Don't overthink this," chided Kyuubi. "Just answer the question."

"We don't know for sure, but theoretically your powers would be completely merged into me, and if my mind or body can't withstand the merge, you could take over me completely or I could cease to exist."

"Good," commended Kyuubi. "And what would happen if no one tampers with the seal and you were to die?"

"Then you would die with me."

"And if I was to be forcefully extracted from you?"

"Jiji doesn't think anyone knows how or has enough chakra to do so; though according to the seal theories I've been studying, it is certainly possible," replied Naruto. "If you were extracted from me, then I would die."

"And if I was still sealed in you, no one tampered with the seal, and I was to die first?"

"Again, no one knows for sure," responded the jinchuuriki, "but Jiji thinks I would survive, and the seal would disappear."

"Well then," said Kyuubi, her patience waning. "If you had one ounce of intelligence, you should have realized that the only possible way for you to be rid of me is to kill me."

"Kill … you?" asked Naruto while tilting his head, looking puzzled. "Why? There must be another way."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," replied Kyuubi, sounding unsure herself while remaining ambiguous. "But that's the wrong question though."

"Wrong question?!" shouted Naruto, his impatience notably heard. "This is no time for your jokes or philosophical debates."

"Why you little brat!" she yelled back. "I was going to tell you what to do, but I guess we'll just have to do it the hard way."

Once the humanoid finished expressing her displeasure, she sent a blast of killer intent towards Naruto. Of all their twelve years of coexistence, this was the first time she deliberately made Naruto feel that he was in danger.

'_So this is what Kyuubi's killer intent feels like,' _thought Naruto as he struggled to remain standing. He wanted to look down and check his pants, but his neck muscles did not comply. He reasoned that they must still be dry, considering that normal bodily functions did not apply to his form, which was only a figment of his imagination in his mindscape.

"Ha!" Kyuubi mocked. "You're forgetting that I can hear your thoughts in here. Don't worry, they're still dry. Are you coming in, or are you giving up?"

Naruto molded as much of his own chakra as he could muster to counter the Nine-tailed Fox's killer intent. He had never had the need to access the large reservoir that was his own chakra. Asuma, Yuugao, and Anko had all been training him in speed and physical agility and rarely had asked him to mold chakra during training. Even when Naruto was sparring against them, they curbed him from using any of the more destructive and chakra consuming ninjutsus and limited the sparring to mostly taijutsu and kenjutsu. Thus, Naruto had no clue of what he was capable of doing if he was to go all out with his chakra.

Right now, he was pleasantly surprised by the result. He found himself slowly regaining control over his own body. Once he was able to move his neck, he looked over himself and examined the blue haze that engulfed him. Then, he sharply glared at Kyuubi with anger in his eyes.

"So you want to play rough?" asked Naruto, clearly pissed by his jailor's actions, joking or not.

Slowly he walked closer to the cage that held the most powerful of all bijuus and passed his small body in between the cage bars. Once he was inside, he sprinted towards his prisoner in attempt to punch her in the face.

The humanoid Kyuubi decided to humor Naruto. She let him try his attacks first and waited until the very last millisecond before she dodged each one of them, frustrating Naruto to no end.

"Hold still!" shouted her exasperated jailor. Though Naruto had been speeding up his attacks, he had not been able to land a single one on the humanoid. A part of him worried that if he was to let up on his attacks, Kyuubi would have the opening to transform back to her nine-story self and easily devoir him.

Of course, Kyuubi had already picked up on the reason behind her charge's anxiety and mused to herself, _'So the plan is working.'_

Suddenly she stopped dodging and with one arm, she grabbed Naruto by the throat and lifted him off his feet.

She shouted into his face, "You imbecile, haven't I taught you anything? Instead of remaining calm to calculate your moves, you barged in here without a plan of attack? What did you hope to accomplish other than getting yourself killed? Is this how you want to die?"

Naruto could feel his life force slowly being choked out of him. He did the only thing he knew to do, though he had no hopes of succeeding. He molded even more chakra, giving it his all.

Unlike the previous time when he molded chakra outside the cage, Naruto found himself enclosed in a purple-hued chakra. An unfathomable amount of power surged through his body. And unlike before, part of this power felt unnatural and foreign.

With eyes widened at the possible implications of his actions, he struggled even harder under Kyuubi's choking grip and managed to whimper, "What … have … I … done?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

When Tenten arrived at the Hokage Tower with the Asuma clone, they found Anko and Yuugao already there waiting for them.

"Suma-chan, what took so long?" asked Anko in between chews as she finished the last of her dango.

"Yeah Asuma, what gives?" asked an equally annoyed Yuugao, who was the first to arrive and had been waiting an hour for this meeting to start.

"Well …."

Asuma was interrupted by his father's raised hand. He heard his father dismissing his escort, "That'll be all Tenten."

Once she left, a stranger holding an ancient-looking sword entered from a side door. Since he had been told their names, he greeted them while trying to contain his own laughter, "Hello, Moonflower, Red Bean Paste, and Young Flying Monkey."

The three Jounins turned towards the stranger. Though Anko and Yuugao were both fuming at the stranger for poking fun at their names, they held themselves back so as not to breach any peace agreements Konoha made with the nation of this foreign dignitary or to damage the possibility of one in the process of being negotiated.

They turned their attention back to the Hokage for his explanation while Asuma remained staring at the new arrival, trying to remember where he had met this man before and how this stranger had used a nickname he received while he was with the Guardian Monks. Once it hit him, the cigarette he had in his mouth fell to the ground.

"Master Wu?!" asked Asuma.

**A/N: **Don't forget to leave a review. Also, check out my other story, **Naruto: A Different Beginning**. Thanks!


	9. Wu to the Rescue!

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 9: Wu to the Rescue!  
**

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Sasuke was more than pissed.

Never had he felt as unfairly treated as he did now, not once in his twelve years alive.

Even when he was younger, when his parents were still alive, when his big brother was still his hero and their father's favorite son, and when the whole clan praised Itachi as their pride and joy … everything short of erecting a statue in his likeness, all of which gone after that fateful night, …

… _never_ in his revenge-driven life had he felt _so_ angry.

Never mind that he had just lost his dog companion Chame a moment ago during a team orientation exercise, in which the dog had growled at an unknown target in the woods and uncharacteristically ran after it alone. The team attempted to search for him, but to no avail. In the end, Sasuke grew more frustrated at each passing minute of their failure and angrily dismissed everyone so he could brood alone.

Chame had been his security blanket since he lost his family to his brother four years ago. In terms of his mental health, introducing Chame so early during his mourning had been a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because it helped him cope with the tragedy easier while learning how to make and be a friend. It was a curse because he had become depended on Chame that his pain was never completely healed.

In time like this, where he had been separated from his dog for a duration of time, he became anxious, insecure, and irritable.

"How dare them!" he muttered with spite while delivering a punch to a nearly decimated training post.

His anger rose even higher when he recalled Danzou's words from a week ago.

"_Sasuke, you are the sole heir of the mighty Uchiha clan. You alone are the only true possessor of the elite and incomparable Sharingan. You are destined for greatness. It is in your blood. People of Konoha will worship the ground you walk on."_

"How … by assigning me to a Genin team?" he growled as he continued venting his frustration in Training Ground 7 after his Jounin-sensei and teammates had left him.

Earlier that week, Danzou told him that the Hokage had agreed to assign him to ANBU, which was a goal and an achievement mark, indicating that he was closing in on the gap between him and his brother.

Danzou assured him if he made ANBU now and was given a chance to show the Hokage his true power, he would be promoted to Captain within a year's time, which means that he would beat the Itachi's record for the youngest to make ANBU captain by a few months.

And now, the reality that was today proved different than the vision that was yesterday.

His hopes shattered. His excitement disappointed. His frustration and discontent with Konoha grew.

"Did Danzou lie to me?" Sasuke wondered aloud. "No, that's not possible. After all, Danzou wants to get more of his men into ANBU, and what could be more valuable to him than having the ANBU captain on his side as well? He has no motive to lie."

Sasuke was still enamored with his own abilities, his confidence in his skills never waivered. This much he had learned from Danzou's unofficial ROOT training.

His arrogance grew even more since he activated his Sharingan two weeks ago.

In his mind, getting enrolled in ANBU was a mere formality to make his training and skill level officially recognized. To him, he had already met the requirement for the ranking.

"The Sandaime, however, would have plenty of motives," he continued his reasoning.

His abuse on the training post never ceased.

Yesterday, while walking down the street after spending the day adjusting to having his Sharingan activated continuously, he passed a deep-in-thought female ANBU with a sword strapped on her back. During their brief encounter, he saw her lips moving in silence. Since his Sharingan was already on, he inadvertently read her lips in passing.

"_Naruto requested to be assigned to Sasuke's team so he could watch over him…."_

"Why would he want to do that!?" his voice came out more as a frustrated shout than a reflection of his curiosity.

The training post finally gave way to the beatings.

He clutched his teeth and vehemently uttered the only conclusion plausible to the limited information he was given.

"So … the Sandaime wants to use his grandson to spy on me, making sure that I'm not like my brother…. Who does he think I am that I would follow _his_ footsteps?"

While Sasuke continued venting his anger, a silver-haired ninja hidden in the shadows among the nearby tree branches watched in silence. A devious smirk appeared on his face as he pushed his spectacles up the bridge of his nose with his right index finger.

'_Heh heh, without that annoying dog in the way, things are developing just the way _he_ wants them to.'_

…o.0.O.0.o…

"Master Wu?!" asked Asuma.

The man called 'Master Wu' appeared to be in his forties and stood about the same height as Asuma. His attire – bluish gray long rob with a Yin and Yang circle on its back – resembled that of a Taoist priest from a distant land that the two kunoichis present had only heard rumors about. He carried a regal looking sword in his left hand.

"Ha! Little Monkey, you remember me!" exclaimed Wu.

"How could I forget?" replied Asuma. His face cringed as he recalled the day he woke up with a clean shaven face. To this day, when he looked back to that prank, he still shuddered at how Wu had given him his shave with his long sword, executing a move he had just invented.

Of the two years Asuma was with the Guardian Monks, Wu had happened to chance there once. Even though this chance encounter lasted only a week, he had learned more from Wu during that week than all those two years with the Monks combined.

Anko placed one hand on Asuma's shoulder and asked, "You know this clown?" Her previous proprieties towards the foreign dignitary expired along with her short fuse. She looked up and down the stranger with her critical eyes, unsure why an ordinary-looking man would be given the reverence of the title "Master."

"Master Wu may not look like much," Asuma informed her and everyone else listening in, "but he is the Headmaster of WuDang School of martial arts, which in another part of the world, is recognized for producing the some of the best Kung Fu fighters around. He could easily kill the three of us Jounins before my dad had a chance to get out of his chair to stop him."

To Yuugao, the female ANBU among them, Sarutobi, the "god of the shinobi" and one who had mastered all jutsus in Konoha, was arguably the strongest and the most powerful ninja alive.

'_For Asuma to use his father as a measuring stick for this person's skills_…. _Could this stranger be that powerful? I wonder what he had taught Asuma and who will win if the Sandaime had to fight him.'_

The WuDang Headmaster shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, not really caring how his skills were measured by his junior. In his peripheral vision he noticed how the talking pair interacted and concluded that there was something going on between the two.

"Does the young monkey still remember the things I've taught him, or has he forgotten them since he's been dipping his tail in red bean paste?" he asked, smirking at his pun and the quick glance that past between the two.

Yuugao let out an uneasy laughter, one that could have easily been a guffaw if she had not heard Asuma's claim of this comedian-wannabe's skills. Though it was not a hardy laughter, it was her first laugh in some time. Ever since she had learned about Naruto's promise to some unknown person – whom she hoped was not Itachi – that he would watch over Sasuke, she had been too worried about her student to do something as relaxing as laughing at a joke.

Yuugao gave Wu a second look. Being someone who favored swords herself, she found the stranger's ancient-looking sword mesmerizing. In fact, she felt that the weapon was too ornate to be taken seriously; however, she knew better than to judge a sword by its sheath.

Anko, on the other hand, did not find Wu's remark funny. It was not because she took offense to Wu's pun, but it was because his comment hit a subject that had been sore with her lately; namely, she was not getting any from Asuma. Granted, talking with Yuugao about it yesterday had let off some of her steam, but she still had plenty of that to blow.

She smirked as a plan formulated in her mind. _'Suma-kun, you're about to learn the consequences of ignoring my needs.'_

While her beau stuttered to articulate a response to Wu's blunt remark, she replied for him, "Well, you don't have to worry about it too much. Whatever the little monkey has forgotten, he's been recalling them in abundance the past week. And if his tail doesn't find its way back to red bean paste soon, he will be spending the rest of his life recalling your teachings sans tail."

This time Sarutobi joined in laughter. His had been a long day, taxing on his mind and emotions, especially after just been briefed by Wu regarding the 'Guardian of Two Nines' Prophecy. He could always count on Anko and Asuma to provide him the much needed comedy relief.

While he recalled his meeting with Wu, he wondered, _'Why does everything have to be so complicated when it comes to Naruto?'_

"The reason I called you three to this meeting," Sarutobi prefaced, addressing the three Leaf Jounins before him, "is because of Master Wu. Apparently he has business with someone you three have in common."

"Naruto!?" exclaimed the said blond's three senseis simultaneously. Of course, having been the receiving end of Naruto's pranks many times over, they were not surprised that he got in trouble again. What surprised them was that their charge-in-common had the time, the opportunity, or even the motive to pull a prank on a stranger, a foreign dignitary no less.

Asuma looked at Wu and bowed. "Master Wu, I'm deeply sorry on his behalf. I'm his father by adoption. For the trouble he caused you, you're welcome to administer whatever punishment you feel just, and I'll add on to it once you're done. I will also make sure that he compensates you for the damages to your valuables from his allowance."

The bearded Jounin had long stopped bailing Naruto out of trouble that he had gotten himself in. Since he had started to let his adopted son bear up the consequences of his actions, Asuma found Naruto's pranks tamer and less frequent.

"Well, that's good to know," stated Wu, "but he hasn't done anything to warrant punishment, at least, none that I'm aware of. Hm, apparently, he gets in trouble a lot?"

If they had been listening to him carefully, they would have detected a glee in his voice as he asked that question. _'Looks like the Nine Stances manuscript has selected another prankster like me.'_

Asuma rolled his eyes and shook his head in despair while sighing, "You have no idea what I go through."

A faint smile appeared on Wu's face as he recalled what havoc he had caused his parents when he was Naruto's age.

Steering the conversation back to the subject at hand, the voice behind the Hokage desk announced, "Master Wu wants to take Naruto with him."

"No!" Yuugao shouted before her two friends had a chance to respond. She had no doubt that the love birds echoed her sentiments.

"Da …" Asuma started to say, but changed his words to reflect the formalities of a ninja to his Kage. "I mean Hokage-sama, do you really think this is necessary? Don't you think he's already progressing very nicely under us three's tutelage? Besides us, he has other unconventional training methods, too."

Sarutobi understood his son was referring to what they had kept secret from everyone, namely, Naruto's mindscape training with Kyuubi.

"Before you three draw your own conclusions, listen to what Master Wu has to say," said Sarutobi, his eyes glancing at the three, pausing briefly on theirs to let them know that this was an order.

"Hai." The three Jounins relented and bowed their heads in submission. When they raised their heads, theirs eyes were on the Taoist swordsman.

"Master Wu," prompted Sarutobi, "please explain to them why you've made such a request."

Wu began his narrative.

"Four years ago, two important manuscripts were stolen from the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts, the Nine Yangs of Qi and the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances. Alone, each contains the most powerful martial art known to man, one in the branch of sword art and the other in the branch of Qi cultivation."

"Qi?" Yuugao inquired.

"Simply put," replied Sarutobi, "it's the energy within all things found in nature."

"As I was saying," Wu continued, slightly annoyed that he was interrupted. In his part of the world, he was one of the few given the highest reverence. Few had the galls to be rude to him, and even fewer were spared to live and tell about it. "Mastering only one of them would put you in a class where few are able to hold their own against you. If you master them together, however, no one would be your match. Should you then be chosen by the manuscripts as their Guardian, becoming the Guardian of the Two Nines, you would be given the power to destine the world's fate for the next two hundred years."

Sensing that Wu had come to a pausing point in his explanation, Anko asked, "Guardian of the Two Nines? What does this have to do with Naruto?"

"Currently there are separate guardians for each manuscript," explained Wu. "I'm the Guardian for the Nine Stances, and Master Wong, the Grand Master Abbot of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts, is the Guardian for the other. It is a rare occurrence to have one become the Guardian for both manuscripts. The prophecy states, 'Every ten-thousand moons rises one guardian over two nines. Behind him bowed Nine Qis and Nine Swords. Before him bowed fate and destiny.' Master Wong and I believe that Naruto has been chosen to be the prophesied Guardian."

Seeing the puzzled faces on Anko and Yuugao, Sarutobi interjected, "Though the boy is unaware of the significance behind it all, he has in possession the two manuscripts."

Anko looked at Asuma beside her and noticed a lack of expression on his face. She concluded in silence, _'He knew already.'_

"Who were the ones that stole the manuscripts and how did Naruto end up with them?" Yuugao asked the Sandaime, her suspicion radar going haywire.

'_Four years ago ….' _Her gut told her that this was connected to the Itachi and the Massacre somehow. _'The timeline is just too conveniently close together.'_

Sarutobi with all his years as the Hokage heard the wheels cranking in Yuugao's head and steered the conversation away from the forbidden path.

"That's immaterial now. The point now is that Naruto has the highly coveted manuscripts and he'll be targeted by extremely powerful enemies. Ones even more powerful than the village can handle."

"Dad!" exclaimed Asuma, shocked at what his father seemed to be suggesting. "You're not saying that we banish Naruto because his presence here will endanger the village, are you!?"

"No, not banishment," stated the Sandaime adamantly. With a sigh he said, "Look, I know you all will miss him, and so will I, but frankly I think he is at a plateau and has grown as much as he could under us while in the security of this villlage. He'll need time for practice and for his body to mature. But what he needs most of all is field experience. Considering the difficult path in front of him, he'll need all the help he can get, especially one of Master Wu's caliber."

Wu made some uneasy gestures to express his awkwardness at being praised. He stated, "Heheh, I'm sure you all have been doing a great job with him, but if it is his destiny to be the Guardian of the Two Nines, he'll need the training that only the current Guardians can offer."

He paused for them to absorb his compliments and offered them their consolation, "It is my understanding that he is expected to return for the Chuunin Exam, which is only six months away. Master Wong and I won't be able to get him near a fraction of the proficiency of where a Guardian needs to be by then, but it will be enough time to teach what he needs to do to reach his own potential himself."

Just when Wu was about to outline to them the things he planned to teach Naruto, the Asuma clone disappeared, leaving behind a cloud of smoke.

"What was that?" asked Wu with a worried face. _'My Guardian sense tells me something big is happening with Naruto. I'm sure Master Wong's much more acute radar is going berserk.'_

"Asuma was simply using a Kage Bushin," Sarutobi explained. "The real Asuma is doing Qi training with Naruto."

"Huh?" whispered Yuugao and Anko as they shared a puzzled look, feeling they had been kept in the dark about their shared student. They looked at their village leader, then Wu, for explanation and saw Wu's already sober face darkened.

"What!?" exclaimed the swordsman while looking at the spot where the previous clone occupied in disgust. "Naruto's a jinchuuriki, and ASUMA is training him how to channel Qi?"

Wu frowned for a second, and then his eyes widened. "Kuzo! He probably told him to empty his head."

By now, Wu was pacing back and forth in the Hokage office, trying to think of a solution to the possible mess Asuma and Naruto might have created.

"He told me that was what needed to be done," replied Sarutobi carefully as he too pondered the possible implications, quite worried that some harm would befall Naruto.

"You monkey brain!" shouted Wu at the absent Asuma, too preoccupied to hear the Sandaime's words. At that point he did not care that his comment could have been misconstrued as an insult directed at the Hokage.

"Doesn't he know that it's impossible for a jinchuuriki to truly empty his mind while his bijuu remains sealed in him?! The only way for him to complete the training Asuma prescribed is to rid the bijuu from his mindscape by either killing it or merging with it."

Before Wu could continue expressing his displeasure or explain what he meant, a blast of the malicious chakra that had not been felt in the Elemental Nations for twelve years washed over them.

Whispered curses echoed in the room.

Wasting no time for explanations, Sarutobi leapt out of the balcony and took off on the rooftops. The rest followed his lead towards the direction of the Sarutobi compound.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto could feel his life force slowly being choked out of him. He did the only thing he knew to do, though he had no hopes of succeeding. He molded even more chakra, giving it his all.

Unlike the previous time when he molded chakra outside the cage, Naruto found himself enclosed in a purple-hued chakra. An unfathomable amount of power surged through his body. And unlike before, part of this power felt unnatural and foreign.

With eyes widened at the possible implications of his actions, he struggled even harder under Kyuubi's choking grip and managed to whimper, "What … have … I … done?"

He stared at Kyuubi with disbelief, his eyes filled with tears of sadness and regret. He could not fathom why the woman before him would do such a thing.

This mutinous action of his prisoner was the last thing Naruto had expected. The demon – whom he addressed as 'sensei' knew him intimately since he was an newborn, introduced him to Kung Fu, healed his wounds, and provided him companionship at times when he was alone – was in many ways a mother to him, and one with whom he had the strongest emotional bond amongst the females in his life.

'_Has she been lying to me from the beginning?' _He felt betrayed and began to doubt everything good he used to believe about the Demon Fox – including her claim to innocence and her being tricked by someone who should have been dead. _'After all, she's a bijuu, the mythological bloodlust force of nature. All she wanted from the start was to gain my trust so she could take over my body and finish her rampage against Konoha.'_

Of course, Kyuubi was aware of her charge's thoughts. Her smirk never left her face as she reflected how successfully she was executing her plans.

If he was going to die, he was going to go down fighting – consequences be damned. Kyuubi must not escape, even if it meant sacrificing himself. The twelve-year-old, already mature beyond his years, knew what he must do next.

Fond memories flooded his mind as he made firm his resolve.

"_Naruto, come back here with my pipe!"_

"_No way, Jiji. Not until you've agreed to let me legally change my name to Sarutobi."_

"_I've told you that it will be easier this way for you to reclaim your heritage when you've become a Chuunin."_

…

"_Yo Gaki, do you think your dad likes me?"_

"_Anko-sensei, don't you mean, 'Why hasn't he proposed yet?'?"_

…

"_Dad, why do you find Anko-sensei attractive?"_

"_You'll understand when you get older."_

"_If you like her so much, why haven't you proposed yet?"_

"_Soon, son, soon."_

…

"_Naruto, is there something you're not telling me?"_

"_What do you mean Yuugao-sensei?"_

"_Like, how are you able to master Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and the sword art I've shown you so quickly?"_

"_I guess you're a better sensei than you thought."_

…

"_Konohamaru, I'm taking the Genin Exam today. If I pass, I'll become a Genin!"_

"_Wow, nii-san! Does that mean you'll be getting all those cool missions?"_

"_Yep!"_

"_Nii-san, do your best!"_

A tear drop rolled down his face. Though the whole realism in his mindscape stemmed from the unreality of his imagination, the sadness in his heart was unmistakable.

Closing his eyes, he stopped struggling against Kyuubi's choking grip and resigned to his fate as a jinchuuriki – the tragedy of human sacrifice. A satisfying grin graced his face. He felt serene, carefree, and unburdened. His death would ensure the death of the Nine-Tails and the safety of everyone precious to him.

'_I will protect everyone.'_

Everything went blank.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Outside in the real world, watching Naruto sit unmoving under the small waterfall was about as exciting as watching grass grow.

Leaning against a tree on a small cliff a decent distance from Naruto, Asuma watched over his adopted son. He had wisely chosen to keep his distance during this stage of Qi training. If he got any closer than where he ended up at, there was a possibility that Naruto could sense his presence and chakra signature, thus become distracted and break his mental concentration.

Asuma remembered all too well his own inability, frustration, and embarrassment to get in touch with his own Qi and the natural energy surrounding him.

"Asuma."

Having been preoccupied by thoughts of Naruto and startled by the sudden interruption, the bearded Jounin was about to spin around with a kick aimed at what should be the intruder's left temple when he calmed down after his mind focused on his surroundings again. Four years of watching over his shoulders, guarding Naruto from Danzou's spies, kept Asuma on edge.

"Easy. It's me," said a same familiar voice.

"Kakashi!?" asked Asuma once he got a look at the new arrival. "What are you doing here?"

"Why? I can't check on my own student?" asked Kakashi with a shrug. "Besides, when I noticed that both of 'you' at the Academy were clones, I had to find out what was going on."

"I guess as his Jounin-sensei, you have a right to know." Asuma turned his eyes back towards Naruto and fell silent for a moment as he tried to come up with a good summary of everything Naruto knew … or at least everything the boy had allowed him to know about.

"Well?" Kakashi urged his hesitant friend, smiling beneath his mask. "Go on, brag to me about this boy of yours."

Asuma sighed and shook his head. "Honestly, I don't really know the full extent of his true abilities. With me, Anko, and Dad, Naruto normally doesn't put up any pretense to mask who he is and what his true skills are, but we've never really push him to go all out either."

Kakashi could sense that Asuma was being intentionally vague. _All I got from that dialogue was that you don't really know how skilled he truly is._ "Uh, why don't you just tell me what you're allowed to divulge so I'll at least have something to go by?"

"Didn't you get a good assessment of him when you sparred with your team a while ago?"

Kakashi shook his head. He could tell that his friend was stalling. "Please, Asuma."

After letting out a heavy sigh, Asuma disclosed, "Ever since he was adopted as a Sarutobi four years ago, he's been pushing himself to the limit every single day. His training was divided into four sections. I was given the physical conditioning and taijutsu. Anko took agility and reflexes, Yuugao taught him the Uzumaki clan techniques" – at that, Kakashi's lone visible eyebrow raised – "and Dad taught him seals and chakra theories."

"Oh, is that all?" asked the silver-haired ninja. "Aren't you forgetting summoning, elemental manipulation, and genjutsu?"

Asuma let out an uneasy chuckle as he rubbed the back of his head with his right hand. "Actually this wasn't our idea at all. It was Naruto's. He had his reasons."

Kakashi gave Asuma one of those looks that prompted Asuma to continue.

Asuma sighed and said, "My dad told him that he would learn the identity of his biological parents once he made Chuunin."

That answer only spawned more questions for Kakashi to ask, but his inquisition was interrupted by the energy spike coming from Naruto's direction.

After about two hours' time, Asuma finally detected a spike of energy coming from his adopted son.

'_Could this be it? Finally, a breakthrough? No, something is not right here.'_

"What's happening Asuma?" asked Kakashi.

"I'm not sure," replied his friend. "Let me find out." _I hope it's Naruto's Qi._

He was not sure of what Naruto's Qi would feel like, especially since his adopted son was a special case, one with a bijuu sealed within. Closing his own eyes, he sent out a chakra pulse towards that energy, in hopes that it would respond much like how he remembered Qi responded when he was with the Guardian Monks.

Instead of feeling a slow and steady pull on his chakra, he felt a violent, sinister wave of energy slamming against his chakra field.

Quickly he opened his eyes, trying to register what had just happened, while failing miserably to shake off the feeling of doom forming in the depth of his being.

He looked towards Kakashi, searching his lone visible eye, looking for anything to draw solace on. Within seconds, the same camaraderie that he felt with Kakashi when they had teamed up in missions past came back as strong as it was six years ago since their last mission together.

And, like acting a role out of their missions' playbook, they nodded at each other and leapt towards the origination of the malicious energy.

As they got closer to Naruto, the image of a cloak of red chakra bubbling forth from the drenched boy slowly came to view. Their skins too gradually felt the corrosive effect of the sinister energy. The burning in their lungs intensified with each breath and every advancement.

They landed as close to the waterfall as safety permitted. An expression of indescribable agony appeared on Asuma's face as the obvious conclusion dawned on him.

Kakashi watched the agony spread across the face of the only true friend he had had since the loss of Obito and the disappearance of Rin, and there was nothing he could do to help.

"What have I done?" Asuma managed to whisper, his thoughts slowly sorting through the turmoil in his heart as memories flooded his mind.

"_Naruto, let's take the day off today."_

"_But why, Dad? Do you have a mission later or something?"_

"_No son, let's go get you some new cloth. You're outgrowing the ones you have already." A smile appeared on his face._

_Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and said, "Heh heh, sorry Dad, the way I'm growing you'll be broke in no time."_

_Asuma reached out to ruffle the hair of his adopted son and pulled him closer. "Not to worry. Your Dad knows the Hokage personally."_

…

"_Hey Naruto, what did you do with my cigarettes?"_

"_I thought you told me you're going to quit," rebutted Naruto with an air of self-righteousness._

"_And I did, but I still need to keep my appearance. I put them in my mouth, but I don' smoke them. They're more like a charm and a prop now. Hurry, hand them over before I head out to my mission."_

…

"_Naruto, today is your Genin Exam, which I'm sure you'll pass with flying colors," said Asuma as he inspected the boy's attire and weapon pouch. _

"_I certainly hope so. I'll do my best, Dad; I won't let you down. You'll be there for the graduation, won't you?"_

"_Of course, wouldn't miss it for the world."_

Asuma's momentary loss of concentration caused his clone in the Hokage office to disperse.

Just when he was about to create another clone and disperse it so that the clone that was sent with Tenten to the Hokage Towers would receive the information on the latest development with Naruto, his mind spaced out for a second and his eyes flashed with a light of new understanding as his mind caught up to the effect of the memory transfer from the dispersed clone.

"Thank Kami, help is coming," sighed Asuma in relief, confident that they should arrive shortly. "And Master Wu is here? What does he want?"

"Well, apparently I'm here to save your son's hide," answered a voice from behind. Wu had snuck up to Asuma and Kakashi undetected.

'_Who is this Master Wu?'_ mused Kakashi.

"Hey!" shouted a startled Jounin who was still midair from the freight. His knuckleknives were positioned on his hands for battle. "I warned you about this when we first met. Don't ever sneak up on a shinobi! I could have killed you if I were not expecting your arrival."

'_I doubt that, my friend. I don't think even with us working together are we a match against him,' _thought Kakashi, continuing his observations in silence.

"Hm … wrong, Monkey Brain," retorted Wu with a smirk. "Don't bother thinking up a comeback. If my memory serves me, you weren't good at them."

Asuma ignored Wu's insults and asked, "Where are the others?"

The Taoist Headmaster went ahead of Sarutobi once he got close enough to sense the malicious chakra emitting from this direction. For four years he searched four corners for the prophesied Guardian of the Two Nines. He was so used to travel on his own and in a much faster pace than he was going that his impatience got the better of him.

"Oh … worrying about your Red Bean Paste, huh?" mocked Wu. "It seems like she's been neglected lately. Better take care of it soon, or she'll make good on her threat on your manhood."

Even though this was a serious situation, Wu resorted to his comedian ways. Like the shinobis in this part of the world, the pugilists of his released their tension through their diversions, which differed from one individual to another.

Besides, there was nothing Wu could do to help Naruto until Sarutobi arrived. While he himself could probably suppress the volatile chakra himself, he had no knowledge of seals and needed help examining and possibly repairing Naruto's seal.

"Yeah, you better listen to him," came the approaching voice of one sexually frustrated female.

Asuma gulped. Last time when Anko had to be satisfied after this long of a dry spell, he had ended up bedbound for days.

On the side, Wu asked Kakashi, "You must be the Copy-nin, Sharingan Wielder Kakashi. Your fame precedes you."

"And you are ...?" asked the Copy-nin.

"… wondering if you are related in any way to an Uchiha. If you are…." Wu left his sentence unspoken, but his right hand readying itself on the hilt of his sword gave away his intent. During his four-year journey searching for the Prophesied Guardian, he had learned that the ones responsible for the stolen manuscripts, the ones with red spinning wheel eyes, were Uchihas. Since then, he had developed a distrust against them.

Though Kakashi was irate that his own question was ignored, he could not let that Uchiha comment slide. It always irked him when people disgraced Obito's memory by assuming that he got his Sharingan because he was part Uchiha.

"No. I. Am. Not."

Kakashi wanted to say more, but Wu had his attention turned back to the arriving party.

'_Who the hell does he think he is?' _mused Kakashi, quite annoyed at being ignored. _'Is this how Gai felt all those times I ignored him?'_

"Hey, Yuugao, Copy Cat's here too!" shouted Anko with her head halfway turned towards the back once she had a chance to catch a breath from her overexertion, never taking her eyes off the manifestation of the chakra waves that flapped about as they emanated from the boy soaked under the waterfall.

"Anko, you don't have to shout. I'm right next to you," replied the ANBU sword user. Her eyes too were fixed on Naruto. Both had taken soldier pills and sped pass their Commander-In-Chief once Wu flew pass them; they had wanted to test their speed against his, only to be embarrassed by how outclassed they were.

Once Sarutobi got there, Wu made eye contact with him and asked, "Do you know anything about Naruto's seal and how to repair it?"

"Of course, I'm the sensei of the person who taught the Yondaime, the creator of said seal," replied Sarutobi with pride. "But I don't think there's anything wrong with the seal. I think whatever fixing we need to do, we need to do so in his mindscape. I can get in, but not while Kyuubi's chakra rages wildly."

"Alright, then, let's hurry," said Wu. "I can suppress Kyuubi's chakra for a few minutes while you get in and do what you need to do, but remember five minutes tops."

Sarutobi gave the WuXia master a confirmatory nod.

Wu continued, "While I take care of this waterfall, please issue whatever orders necessary to insure the safety of your village. Also please instruct at least one person how to wake you from Naruto's mindscape, just in case."

Once he finished his words, he unsheathed his sword, employed the art of levitation, and air walked above the body of water that separated the shore from the waterfall. When he reached Naruto, he channeled Qi into his sword, and before returning it back into its sheath, he stabbed it into a wall behind the waterfall at a spot directly above Naruto.

Meanwhile Sarutobi had just finished showing the Sharingan-activated Kakashi the hand seals to break the Mind Walking Technique and giving orders to Yuugao and Anko, telling them to make preparations against a possible Kyuubi attack. Then, he told Asuma to secure the area so there would be any intruders or Danzou-spies during this time. Finally, he turned his head towards the waterfall and saw a sight he had never imagined possible.

The spot where Wu's sword had stabbed crumbled under the exertion of Qi. What began as a hairline of a fracture in the rocks beneath the waterfall quickly expanded into a canyon that ran as far back into the land behind the falls as the eye could see. The waterfall was no more as its water was diverted into the changed topography.

'_That must be the power of Seitou,' _thought Sarutobi, _"the Sword of the Guardian of the Nine Stances.'_

Actually, what Sarutobi saw was the evident demonstration of the power of Qi. No one had yet unlocked the power of Seitou, or had the need to.

Seitou offered no mystical power, unlike other legendary swords, at least none that Wu knew of. However, he did know that it was unparalleled in sharpness and hardness and had never encountered a weapon it could not cut through. The length of its blade extended from the tip of the sword to the butt of the hilt and was made from a special metal especially conductive to Qi and chakra. Legend had it that the special metal was formed by the gods in the clouds and then forged into a sword by the demons in the fiery furnace of a volcano.

Its sheath was made from jade, which was said to have been carved by the Lonesome Hermit himself while inventing the Nine Stances. According to folklores, jade had the ability to store the essence – Qi, chakra signature, and memory – of its owners. As the sheath was passed through successive owners, what started out as a lightly hued green jade deepened its shade. Now the sheath in Wu's hand gave off a navy blue hue, reflecting the beauty of its age and the power of its previous masters.

Emitting Qi from his every pore to shield himself from the damaging effect of the vile chakra, Wu crossed his legs into a sitting lotus and positioned himself behind Naruto. Then, he held up his index and middle fingers together, channeled Qi to them, and in a mere second sealed twenty pressure points on Naruto. On the back of the twelve-year-old, twenty tiny energy glows flashed behind the trail of Wu's hand movement.

Those pressure points and the sequence in which they were pressed helped to funnel the Qi he was about to infuse into the convulsing blond.

Wu's arms and hands gestured several Kung Fu maneuvers to circulate and amplify Qi throughout his body in preparation for an extensive output. Once he was ready, he eased his palms onto Naruto's back and infused Qi into him.

Qi - the essence of life, the ether of energy, the mother of matter – flowed into Naruto and twirled around his brain, calming the erratic synaptic pulses; his heart, easing the palpitations; his lungs, opening mucus-latten bronchioles; his liver, arresting excessive bile secretion; his kidneys, enhancing toxin removal; and his navel, impeding the escape of the bijuu sealed within.

Once the chakra flare had been suppressed, Sarutobi ran across the pool with Kakashi trailing him to assist breaking the Mind Walk Technique if need be. They leapt onto the rock on which Naruto and Wu were seated. While standing and after confirming the integrity of the seal on his grandson's navel, Sarutobi rapidly formed the required hand seals for the Mind Walk Technique, and then placed his right hand on Naruto's head.

…o.0.O.0.o…

In Naruto's mindscape, Sarutobi's visage appeared standing in a blank space of emptiness that was normally Kyuubi's sewer.

He was not one that frequented Naruto's mindscape. This marked only his third. However infrequent his visits were, he had never felt as foreign and as unwanted as he did now. He had hoped for Naruto's presence, definitely expected at least Kyuubi's, but he got nothing.

Nothing but vast emptiness.

He tried to yell for Naruto, but nothing came out. He tried snapping his fingers, anything to make a sound, and again got nothing. Feeling frustrated and useless, he was just about to terminate the jutsu when he heard voices. Every syllable boomed at him from all directions.

Wu's voice said, "Kyuubi, this is as far as you're going to get. Your ambition stops with me."

A feminine voice which Sarutobi guessed belonged to Kyuubi said, "Who the hell are you and how come I can hear you in here? Don't tell me you are a Qi master?"

"By all means, no," replied Wu's voice, "but my limited Qi cultivation ought to be enough to delay you until the Old Monkey fix the seal."

"Hahaha," sounded a sultry laughter that would put Kurenai's to shame. "The seal does not need fixing. My vessel breached the seal when he entered into my cage on his own accord."

Upon hearing his grandson's stupidity, Sarutobi wanted to gasp and curse, and would have, if not for the vacuum state of nothingness that prevented him from so doing.

This left Sarutobi to wonder why it was possible for him to hear them and yet unable to see them. He reasoned that they were communicating with their Qi, and that perhaps it was too late to save Naruto, if neither his grandson nor Kyuubi were visibly present in the mindscape.

"No matter," replied Wu's voice. Although the response sounded calm and nonchalant, Sarutobi could tell based on his brief encounter of Wu that he was convincing himself of the only acceptable outcome of this episode.

"Hmph, you arrogant human," came Kyuubi's voice, "you don't even know what is happening, much less how to or IF you want to stop it."

"I've felt your energy," came the reply, "and I didn't detect any malicious intent in your actions."

"What did that Old Prune give you to smoke in his pipe, huh? Don't you know that I'm the evil incarnate Kyuubi no Kitsune?"

"Of course you are, and you're also emitting this motherly aura all around you. You've tried to camouflage it with your bijuu chakra, but you can't disguise your Qi."

'_What the hell does that supposed to mean?' _thought Sarutobi. _'Does this mean …?' _His thoughts were interrupted by their dialogue. This time, he noticed that the mood turned much lighter.

"Well, aren't you a clever bastard?"

"Heh, heh. Yeah, that's what my students have said behind my back, especially after I've gotten them good on a prank."

"So, you're a prankster like Naruto, huh?" sounded the sultry voice. However, Sarutobi noticed the next words were uttered by the bijuu's untransformed savage voice. "GET OUT of here! Let me spend my last moments of existence in peace."

"No. I … will … NOT … let … you … merge … with … Naruto."

Sarutobi concluded that either Wu deliberately wanted to make his point or that he was readying himself for something strenuous. Then he heard Kyuubi's voice.

"Ha! There's nothing you can do about it. This is my choice to make."

"Merging with him will hinder him from fulfilling his true potential."

Kyuubi's angry voice shook Sarutobi's footing and brought him down to his knees. "I'm the most powerful bijuu that ever came into existence. And since I'm sealed in him, I AM his true potential."

Wu's voice was still calm. "He is the prophesied Guardian of Two Nines, the dual guardian of those two manuscripts in your possession. However if you merge yourself with him, he will most likely be rejected by the spirit of their former masters…."

"Ha! The spirit of their former masters," came Kyuubi's response, "the Guardian of the Two Nines. Ha! Those haughty fools of old and their child's play that they called Kung Fu …. How does any of that compare to my awesomeness and the infinity power that is my chakra?"

Wu's voice came unrestraint, making obvious his displeasure. "Enough! You are not to insult the former Guardians. I had wanted to make nice, but you spit in my face. No more. I'm going to forcefully end this charade now!"

Suddenly Sarutobi heard words addressed to him.

"Get out, NOW, Old Monkey! I'm going to suppress her Qi!"

Then, Sarutobi released the Mind Walking Technique and returned to the real world. There he saw sitting behind Naruto a much older Wu, his once-coal-dark hair grayed and his fortyish face wrinkled. A pillar of white thick steam ascended from Wu's head.

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **My thanks to my beta, KyLewin, for pointing out my mistakes.

Seitou - the name of the sword for the Guardian of the Nine Stances - literally means "holy sword."

Don't forget to leave a review. Also, please check out my other story, **Naruto: A Different Beginning**. Thanks!


	10. Naruto's Fate

****

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 10: Naruto's Fate**

…o.0.O.0.o…

Sorry for the long delay, but I've been working on my other story, which I've renamed to **Naruto: A Different Beginning**. It's now 4 chapters strong :D and the newest chapter has my first attempt at writing anything romantic.

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The malicious chakra wave was felt by all in Konoha.

There was no mistaking it. Those who had been alive twelve years ago, and old enough to remember, knew what _that_ chakra was.

Just when pandemonium was about to erupt, Anko and Yuugao returned to the village in time to carry out Sarutobi's directives, directing several cavalries of ANBU through the village, declaring the Hokage's evocation of the Edict de Senju, an old wartime decree that was used once by the Shodaime to keep everyone indoors, away from harm's way.

No one questioned it … _almost _no one.

Danzou was one.

He wanted to know what was going on and sent out his ex-Root subordinates to circumvent the ANBU cavalries but were unsuccessful as they were heavily guarded by Sarutobi's forces.

Another was the double spy of Orochimaru and Madara, whose cover was an inconspicuous medic-nin of Konoha – Yakushi Kabuto.

Because of the distraction Danzou's ex-ROOT loyalists furnished, the ANBUs were too occupied to notice a certain speck-wearing silver-haired medic-nin getting away.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Three days later.

A bun-haired brunette wearing her usual pink vest outfit made her way out of the Yamanaka flower shop with a bouquet of flowers in her hands.

It was crowded, more so than she had ever remembered seeing it to be. As she walked out, she took a glance at the long line of girls waiting.

She sighed and whispered to herself, "Looks like the number of Naruto's fan-girls rivals that of Sasuke or Neji. I'm glad that I'd lined up early."

As she admired the artistry of arrangement, her thoughts went to the girl behind such skill.

_Poor Ino. She'd wanted to see Naruto herself, but she got stuck helping out at the shop._

Then the brunette noticed that the card in the flowers shaped like a heart.

She blushed a little at the implication, but left it alone, and continued to walk toward the hospital.

Once she got there, she was told by the receptionist that Naruto still could not have any visitors. She then had to surrender her flowers to the hospital staff and had to watch with disappointment it getting placed in a room full of similar presents wishing for Naruto's speedy recovery.

Feeling insignificant and doubtful that hers would ever get noticed, she turned around and was about to leave the hospital when she heard someone called out her name.

"Tenten!"

Turning her head toward the voice, she saw a pink-haired girl waiving her hands and a blue-haired girl sitting next to her looking downward and pressing her fingers together.

She tilted her head slightly, trying to remember where she had seen them before.

"Sakura and Hinata?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

In Naruto's hospital room, the mood was grim.

Silence reigned as other occupants processed their thoughts on their favorite blond who'd been lying motionless in bed, with the only sign of life being the shallow heaving of his chest.

"Suma-kun, it's been three days since we brought him back," said Anko, expressing the anxiety that had been in everyone's mind. "Tell that comedian ex-sensei of yours to get off his ass and do something about this."

"Go book a room with your monkey," retorted Wu who was the only one sitting. "We'll send someone deaf to get you if there's any development."

"Oh, bite me."

"No, that's 'Suma-kun's job." Wu replied with a satisfying smirk as he watched his former student's face deepen in color.

"Hn," remarked Anko absent-mindedly. She had been going at it with Wu for days now to pass time. It amused her that he could always come up with something new and smart to piss her off and take her mind off the comatose boy for a few minutes.

Wu had never left the boy's side since that fateful day at the waterfall.

Suppressing Kyuubi had taken a lot out of the WuDang Headmaster. He himself had to be carried back by Asuma. Although the past three days had allowed him enough time to recover most of his Qi, he had yet to return to his full strength. However, his true age was once again camouflaged by the youthful vigor and appearance that his resourceful Qi afforded him. Gone were the gray hair and overly wrinkled face.

The past few days that Wu had tended to the boy's bedside was spent mostly looking out the window. It was not because he was longing for the modern conveniences that a prosperous village like Konoha could offer in comparison to his outdated and plain Taoist temple. He had spent so much time looking out because it happened to face east, the direction from which he came. It had been four long years, and he missed his disciples.

There would have been more people waiting by the blond's bedside had their schedules been as open as his. They had been in everyday to check on him though. Every morning, though, like today, they had all gathered for their daily unofficial meeting with the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, do you still wish to send Naruto away after he wakes up?" asked Kakashi, trying to breathe some optimism into the room. The implied _if_, though unsaid, rang loud and clear in everyone's minds.

"_If_ he wakes up, he'll do so today," Wu muttered to himself from the corner.

Kakashi leered at the Taoist priest whose back was turned toward him.

"_When_ he does, he will, but now I'm not sure if he'll be under positive influence," replied Sarutobi to Kakashi's question, equally annoyed at Wu's blunt statement.

Wu pretended to turn a deaf ear.

"What about my team, then?" inquired Kakashi with his eyes back on his favorite reading material. "I'll be one man short."

"That's where Anko comes in," replied Sarutobi without paying attention to the reactions of Kakashi and Anko.

Kakashi's facial expression was hard to read, with it being hidden behind his mask and his perverse book, but his sole visible eyebrow arched upward. Anko's face was easier to read, and at the time, it was one of confusion.

Sarutobi was distracted, splitting his attention between worrying about his comatose grandson and filtering Kakashi's questions. After a second, the portion of his attention that had been reserved for all things not-Naruto spotted the look on Anko's face; he cringed noticeably.

"What!?" shouted Anko as her eyebrows furrowed, her face showed a mixture of emotions. "You are not going to put me in Kakashi's team to babysit Prince Uchiha and his fan-girl, are you?"

"Anko," retorted Kakashi, with his eye still glued to the smut. "Technically, I'll be the one babysitting them."

Though his words sounded nonchalant, the meaning of his tone was clear. Kakashi was unwilling to share the oar on how to steer _his _team.

Anko was just about to give Kakashi a piece of her mind when her thoughts were abruptly jolted by voice from her superior.

"Enough." The Sandaime now turned his face toward them, making eye contact. Once he had their attention, he turned to Anko first.

"You've told Naruto that you wanted a Genin team yourself should one becomes available, didn't you?"

Anko could only nod, surprised that the boy had actually done her that favor.

"Well, with the roster already filled, you won't get your own team this year. But in Naruto's absence, you can still remain a sensei if you become one to his teammate Sakura."

"But, Hokage-sama …"

Sarutobi sagely raised his hand to silence her protest while turning his attention to Kakashi. He toke a puff before continuing.

"Kakashi, you will be focusing your attention on Sasuke … "

At the mentioning of that name, Yuugao turned her head toward them, remembering how the tone was similar to Naruto's when he was requesting to be assigned to Team 7.

" … because of Danzou's influence on the boy. My gut tells me that something big is about to happen, and it will involve him."

At this point, Sarutobi gave the ex-ANBU captain a solemn look, "Readjust the boy if at all possible, but I trust that you'll do whatever it takes to ensure Konoha's safety."

The implied directive rang loud and clear in Kakashi's mind. Even though he felt he'd owed Obito more than anything, his ANBU training made him realize that the greater good of the village came first.

Two resolute "Hai"s were given.

"Dad," interrupted Asuma, who had left Anko's side when she was called forth and was now sitting next to Naruto. "Look!"

The room focused its attention on the comatose boy whose eyelids were struggling to open. Everyone was holding their breath for Naruto to regain consciousness. All but Wu moved closer to his bedside.

"Don't get your hopes up yet," said the WuXia realist, who had remained by the windows, unintentionally putting a dampener on everyone's spirits. "What comes next will be the boy's toughest fight yet."

As if on queue, the boy's head violently turned from side to side, as if he was in the act of shaking off an imaginary grip on his neck.

…o.0.O.0.o…

_Naruto: "Since you already know that this training requires me to clear my mind of all things, including you, tell me how to do it."_

_Kyuubi: "For you to advance in your training, you must understand the consequences of doing so. Once you do this, you cannot turn back. The only possible way for you to be rid of me is to kill me."_

_. . ._

_Kyuubi sent a blast of killer intent towards Naruto. Of all their twelve years of coexistence, this was the first time she deliberately made Naruto feel that he was in danger._

"_So you want to play rough?"_

_Naruto entered the cage and sprinted towards his prisoner in attempt to punch her in the face._

"_You imbecile, haven't I taught you anything? What did you hope to accomplish other than getting yourself killed? Is this how you want to die?"_

_Kyuubi grabbed Naruto by the neck._

_Naruto could feel his life force slowly being choked out of him. He did the only thing he knew to do, though he had no hopes of succeeding. He molded even more chakra, giving it his all._

_When molding chakra, Naruto found himself enclosed in purple hue and an unfathomable amount of power surged through his body. A part of this power felt unnatural and foreign._

_With eyes widened at the possible implications of his actions, he struggled even harder under Kyuubi's choking grip and managed to whimper, "What … have … I … done?"_

_Closing his eyes, he stopped struggling against Kyuubi's choking grip and resigned to his fate as a jinchuuriki – the tragedy of human sacrifice. A satisfying grin graced his face. He felt serene, carefree, and unburdened. His death would ensure the death of the Nine-Tails and the safety of everyone precious to him._

'_I will protect ….'_

"… everyone!" screamed the hospitalized boy as he sat himself erect with eyes wide open and sweat beads forming on his forehead, rolling down the sides of his face.

He looked around and blinked his eyes several times. Slowly the imagery before his eyes cleared as they readjusted themselves to sight. He called out the names of his loved ones as their faces became distinguishable to him.

"Dad … Jiji … Anko-sensei … Yuugao-sensei … Kakashi-sensei…." He paused, trying to think if he knew who the strange swordsman standing next to the window was. Not trusting himself, he pointed there and asked Asuma, "Dad, there's a strange-looking person standing there, right?"

"Yeah, son," reassured Asuma while letting out a soft chuckle, relieved that Naruto was himself. "How do you feel?"

"Uh … weak," replied the twelve-year-old whose stomach just rumbled its own response, "… hehe, and hungry."

"Oh, I'll go get you some ramen," volunteered Anko, her foot already out the door. Although she was glad that the gaki had made it, she was never good at these happy-feel-good-I'm-so-glad-you're-alive scenes.

"Thanks, Anko-sensei," he called out, but she had already left.

"Naruto," said Sarutobi, "tell us what you remember."

Naruto wanted to, but silently nodded his head toward the stranger, his body language asking if he could speak freely.

Sarutobi nodded and said, "Not to worry. He knows everything and was a big help. I'll explain later. Just tell us what you remember."

Naruto scratched his head and twisted his lips briefly as if he was trying to wring the answer out of them.

"Well, I remembered the water washing over me and then I entered my mindscape and had my chat with Kyuubi …." He went on to relate the scene his mind repeated countless times before he woke up.

"So, what happened to me anyway? I probably overdid it and fainted, right? It was a bad dream, right?" asked a worried Naruto as he puzzled over his condition and everyone's facial expressions as what he'd said was being digested. "Why do I feel so weak anyway?"

"Probably because you can't draw on Kyuubi's chakra or her healing property."

Hearing his adoptive grandfather's solemn words and grave facial expression confirmed the worst of Naruto's fears. He clutched his fists in a handful of bed sheet, trying to focus inward and access his tenant.

Once he entered his mindscape, he found the cage of Kyuubi where it always was, at the epicenter of the walls of labyrinth. Except, unlike his previous visits, the seal engravings on the walls were not pulsing with Kyuubi's vibrant chakra. Another very significant difference was that now the gargantuan cage was completely covered by a giant taijitu symbol of Yin and Yang draping over it.

Naruto was about to call out to his tenant, but his mind got pulled back into reality by Sarutobi's voice echoing down his ear cannel.

"You can do that later Naruto. Right now I need your mind back on what we have to tell you."

Shaking his head to rid the mind-numbing effect of exiting his mindscape, the twelve-year-old was about to protest and plead for a few more minutes of quietness when his eyes caught movement from the strange swordsman, whose taijitu symbol on the back of his cloak now became visible. His eyes then widened in shock as his mind registered how that symbol was exactly the same one he saw draping over Kyuubi's cage.

"You!" Pointing his finger at Wu, Naruto shouted in the loudest voice his weakened condition allowed him to muster, which only made it come out sounding rasp and coerced. "What did you do to my Kyuubi-sensei?"

"Wrong question, baka!" retorted Wu as he moved in closer to let the boy get a better look at him. "Not what I did to her, but what she did to herself. Besides, you're not exactly blameless here … what were you doing inside her cage anyway?"

On the side, Yuugao and Kakashi reflected on what Naruto had just said.

"_My_ Kyuubi-sensei? And it's a _she_?" mouthed Yuugao in an undertone. She knew that Naruto had the bijuu sealed in him, but she did not know that he was communicating with it – or, now that she knew, _her_ – much less being taught by her or his having such bond with her. _'Could that explain why sword art comes so easily for him?'_

Kakashi's thoughts were _'Is this the secret Asuma was talking about, or is there more?'_

Naruto looked away in shame as he reflected on how easily his emotions had gotten the best of him, causing him to make such a grave error. He had known that the Nine-tails was taunting him, but he did not stop himself from taking the bait. His only hope now was that his foolishness had not caused any irreversible damages.

"So, what now?" asked Naruto after he finally got back the resolve to face the issue again.

Wu said in a mocked comforting tone, "Don't worry, you DID protect everyone." That solicited a few chuckles in the room and a blush from Naruto, knowing they were poking fun at his loud declaration of bravado.

Sarutobi answered him next, wanting to make sure the boy did not end up being too tough on himself.

"Your tenant was trying to force a merger, willingly sacrificing her existence and erroneously thinking that it was the best way to help you achieve more power."

"But I don't want more power, especially not at the cost of her life," interjected Naruto in his defense. He did not want to be associated with those traitors who had left the village whom he had learned about in the history books; namely, Orochimaru, Itachi, and Madara.

"She didn't finish the process," stated Wu, still looking outside the window.

"Duh, I may be a kid, but I'm not stupid," retorted Naruto, finally glad that he had somewhat of a retort against Wu's verbiage, albeit a weak one. "If she had, I wouldn't be in bed still, feeling weak all over."

Wu turned his head toward the whiskered blond and growled with a comment of his own, "If she did, you'd probably be dead by now."

"Wrooong!" said Naruto, stretching out the word for emphasis. "If she did, I'll be so strong right now that there's no stopping me from ripping you a new one in a spar!"

For reasons Naruto had yet to understand, this Wu guy was getting under his skin.

"Oh I would love to make you wish you hadn't uttered those words," taunted Wu.

"H-hum!" interjected Sarutobi while deliberately clearing his throat to get their attention. "Naruto, since you can't access Kyuubi's chakra or detect her presence, you are correct that the merging was incomplete. However Master Wu here was correct … "

Naruto heard a vindicated "Hn!" coming from the direction of the window.

"… if the merge had been successful, you'll be a mini-hybrid of Kyuubi without any control of yourself at best or a dead Genin at worst. It was very fortunate that Master Wu was with us when we found you. To save your life, he had to take drastic measures to arrest the merge."

"What … drastic … measures?" whispered Naruto nervously as he prepared for the worst.

Sarutobi looked away and gave a short nod to Wu to queue him on.

"I had to suppress her Qi."

Naruto snapped his head toward Wu and shouted, "What the hell does that mean?"

Asuma chastised in his fatherly tone, "Naruto …."

"Sorry, Dad, but this guy, acting all cool, just irks me!" said Naruto in his defense.

"Haha," Wu burst out laughing. "Probably because we have so much in common …."

"Why you …." Naruto growled as he flipped aside his sheets, ready to attack.

In a blink of an eye, Wu had covered the distance between the window and the bed, with his fingers having already sealed off 3 pressure points on Naruto's chest, temporarily immobilizing him. The shinobis in the room were ready to come to Naruto's rescue, but Wu simply held his hand up to call them off.

A few in the room had already realized that if this had been a real fight, they would not have stood a chance against him.

With his attention still on the boy, Wu stared into the twelve-year-old's eyes and said, "Listen gaki, I've had to be away from my disciples for 4 years to search for you. Kyuubi is small fries compare to what's really in store for you. You have within you the ability to change the world, and if I could help it, for the better. Men have killed in the past trying to get their hands on the two manuscripts sealed within you. And if I don't get you ready for your enemies soon, you'll become like all others before you who have failed to become the Guardian of the Two Nines, a mere asterisk in the pages of history."

"Guardian of the Two Nines?" asked Naruto who was still struggling to free himself from Wu's Pressure Point Immobilization Technique. "What are you talking about? What does this have to do with whatever you've done to Kyuubi-sensei?"

Wu had only immobilized Naruto's body, but left alone his speech.

"The Prophecy foretold that the next coming of the Guardian of the Two Nines would fall four years ago, around the time when those two manuscripts in Kyuubi's possession were stolen from their place of keeping. I believe the thief wanted the Kung Fu manuals so he could be the Guardian of the Two Nines. And a baka like you, though for reasons I can't comprehend …"

Naruto growled.

"… evidently had the grace of Fate, destined to become the next dual Guardian when someone handed those manuscripts to you four years ago."

"I _don't_ want to be a caretaker to some really old manuscripts!" Naruto responded furiously.

"Why you …" As Wu said that, he walked away in disgust. He did not want to lose his cool and take out his frustration on a twelve-year-old.

Sarutobi continued in his place and said, "Well, you don't have to. If you really don't want to, just give Master Wu the two manuscripts, and he'll be on his way."

Naruto's facial expression was that of relief, while Wu's was confused as to where the old man was going with this. He was about to ask, but stopped when Sarutobi continued his reasoning.

"But know that the next Guardian isn't scheduled to appear again for a few hundred years, Remember what our friend-in-common" – both knew he was referring to Itachi – "had told us about Madara and how he's after these manuscripts too?"

Naruto had calmed down and could start to see where his Jiji was leading him.

"All right," he quietly stated, "I'll think about it some more."

Then his anger returned as he replayed what Wu had told him. Pointing his finger at the swordsman, he shouted, "You still haven't told me what you did to my Kyuubi-sensei!"

"Simple," Wu replied unfazed, "I put her into a state similar to hibernation. She'll be out of commission for three years. Unfortunately, that's the longest I'm able to suppress her with Qi alone. During this time you must become strong enough to withstand her influences in the future."

"What! Who asked you to do that?!" the boy shouted passionately while struggling ever more so against the immobilization.

"Relax, Naruto. That will wear off soon," reassured Asuma, who had been a recipient to the same technique couple of times during this tenure with the Guardian Monks. "For now, listen to this guy. Master Wu is a very capable teacher. He can teach you many things that we couldn't to do while in the village. He will help you realize your full potential."

"What do you mean, Dad, by 'while in the village'? You're not saying …"

One look at the faces of Asuma and Jiji told him what he needed to know.

"… that means …."

Naruto looked away as tears swelled his eyes and askied, "How long will I be gone?"

At this moment, Anko came back with Naruto's favorite ramen orders, in tote were Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata.

Anko had already known about it so she was not surprised at all. The girls on the other hand had looks of disbelief on their faces.

…o.0.O.0.o…

—**Omake—**

During Wu's three-day wait for Naruto to wake up from his coma, he'd spent time in Konoha trying to get to know the ninjas better. One incident was particularly noteworthy.

The day after rescuing Naruto by the waterfall training area, Wu saw Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi by a river washing their signature attires.

Kakashi was scrubbing the stains off his mask fabric, working through a month's worth of laundry, apparently down to his last clean mask.

Gai too was in a similar situation, down to his last clean spandex. The only remarkable difference was that his stains were more noticeable and, because of their location, had more potential to cause embarrassment.

Both were using powder detergent for added scrubbing power.

Kakashi was trying his best to keep his cool while his ears were begging to be shielded from Gai's constant ramblings about the Power of Youth and about how proud he was of his prized protégé, Rock Lee.

Wu watched their interaction from a distance. At first he found the scene somewhat interesting and amusing, but after a while, he too got tired of Gai's whimsical nonsense. Then he started to feel sorry for Kakashi who had so much longer to endure, considering there still remained a month's worth of masks to be washed.

'_After all, there's a thin line between insanity and humor.'_ Wu believed Gai crossed that line a day before he was conceived.

The Taoist priest figured that the best way to assist Kakashi was to help them get those stains out of their clothing faster. Reaching into his sleeves, he found a vial of the WuDang laundry powder and with a performance of Tai Chi he managed a small breeze that carried his powder concoction into theirs.

On the next round of wash, Kakashi and Gai were pleasantly surprised that their efforts were more rewarding this round than their previous attempts. This led Gai to boast about how brightly his power of youth was burning.

The marked improvement made Kakashi realize that relief from Gai's loud ramblings was coming soon. Gai was estatic, shouting a variation of his favorite mantra, "The Power of Youth conquers all."

However, soon their happiness and relief turned into grief and anger. Not only did the detergent removed the stains from their signature attires, it also removed some of the coloring; and in Gai's case, due to his overzealous scrubbing, some of the fabric as well.

Kakashi's dark gray masks, sporting various hues of pink and purple, now looked more like a scarf. Gai's spandex training suits now sported blotches of yellow and white, along with holes in embarrassing places that would make Anko's fishnet shirt modest in comparison.

The Copy-nin had suspected something was wrong with their detergent when its efficacy had mysteriously increased. Taking a sniff of it, he found its smell slightly different from usual. In fact, it smelled a little like the Taoist priest he'd met at the waterfall yesterday. Forming a few hand seals, he summoned his favorite nin-dog to track down Wu.

Currently Kakashi, Gai, and Wu were at training ground 7.

"What is the meaning of this?" asked Kakashi while holding up a piece of evidence, a pink and purple scarf-mask.

"Yeah?" concurred Gai, holding up his own evidence, a ... um ... something that looked like it had been chewed by a dog.

"Hehehe…." Wu could not help but crack up when he looked at what happened to their signature attires. His laughter only deepened when he pictured how ridiculous they would look were they to put these on now. "Hoho…" was what his laughter became as he was trying to inhale.

"Oh… oh …" now holding his side, regaining composure, Wu replied, "I was only trying to help."

"We're going to teach you a lesson, you funny looking man," said Gai. This coming from a man wearing green spandex only made Wu start another round of uncontrollable laughter.

Gai narrowed his eyes at Wu and said with disdain, "You _will_ feel the power of our youth, right Kakashi?"

Kakashi cursed his karma and knew that if Gai was going to fight Wu, he couldn't back away, or he would never hear the end of how an "ex-ANBU captain chickened out" around the shinobi community or how his "self-proclaimed eternal rival bested him in something" around Gai.

With a heavy sigh, he pull up the hitai-ite covering his lone Sharingan and said to Gai while not daring to take his eyes off Wu, "You better take your weights off for this one, Gai."

The bowl-cut taijutsu specialist lightly chuckled and said, "No need to obliterate him, Kakashi. We're only trying to teach him a lesson."

He charged forward before Kakashi had a chance to explain his warning. _'Oh well,'_ Kakashi shrugged, _'he'll have to learn the hard way. Nothing's changed.'_

Wu remained where he was, still laughing, and acted as if an approaching green blur did not even exist. When he got one meter within Wu, Gai readied himself to open his attack with a sweeping Primary Lotus kick to Wu head, aiming for his left temple.

One centimeter close to the kick connecting, Wu thrust out his left hand, extending his index finger and flicked his Qi at three of Gai's pressure points around the tibia, femur, and humerus, effectively motion-freezed Gai's flying leg to a screeching halt. The rest of Gai's body, however, was still behind the momentum of the kick and continued the follow though motions, unable to stop itself from pulling a few muscles and dislocating his hip at his kicking – right – leg.

With that simple flick of a finger, Wu, not having even touched one single hair on Gai's body, was able to not only stopped Gai's favorite opening attack, but defeated him as well.

Suddenly, Wu swung his sword and sheath out of his back strapping and plunged it into the ground. From his sleeves, he took out an elaborately designed folded-up fan that was an arm's length and balanced it horizontally on the butt of the sword hilt.

He said to the silver-haired ninja, "I don't expect you to land a punch on me or even come any closer than your companion did. So all you have to do is tip this gingerly balanced fan off my sword, and I'll admit defeat."

Kakashi's mouth hung open. He covered his hitai-ite over the Sharingan with his right hand and lifted his jaw to shut his mouth with his left. He slowly walked over to Gai and picked him up, carrying him over his shoulder, leaving for the hospital without saying another word.

"Hm," lamented Wu, "I was hoping for a little more fun to loosen up my joints… Oh well."

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **Just so we're clear, the Omake did not happen in my story. It's called Omake for a reason. :D


	11. Visitors

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 11: Visitors**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto looked away as tears swelled up in his eyes and asked, "How long will I be gone?"

At this moment, Anko came back with Naruto's favorite ramen orders. In tote were Tenten, Sakura, and Hinata; all of whom had looks of disbelief on their faces.

Naruto's ears and nose had lost some of their sensitivity without the Nine-tailed Fox's influence, and with his vision blurred by tears, he was unable to discern who had just walked in with Anko. He had to turn aside and wipe the tears off to get a better look.

Although they had followed Anko to the room, the three girls were still standing near the doorway, clearly intimidated by the strong commanding auras of the adults present.

It was heart wrenching for Naruto to look at their expressions, especially the sadness on both Hinata and Sakura's faces. He and Tenten did not really have that kind of closeness yet, but he knew he would miss her as well.

Meanwhile Anko had left Naruto's orders on a table next to his bed. It was an order fit for three persons, but such small amount was peanuts compared to the blond's normal intake.

For a moment the lackluster twelve-year-old seemed to have come alive to the savory smell of his favorite food. He exhibited strength and agility that did not seem possible before. He grabbed the food, unwrapped the packaging, and was digging in like there was no tomorrow.

Wu raised an eyebrow at Naruto's sudden surge of energy and mentally filed it for later.

On the other hand, Anko and Asuma looked each other with a worried face when they saw Naruto's pace slowed down after the first bowl, though he was still on target to finish the rest.

They would know. Both had taken Naruto to Ichiruka's frequently enough to know not to offer to treat too often. They would know how much the blond could put away before this waterfall incident – even when he wasn't feeling well – 10 bowls minimum.

They thought to themselves, _'Must be another side-effect of Kyuubi's dormancy,'_ if one could call not having a ferocious appetite for something as unhealthy as ramen to be a 'side-effect.'

"Three years in all," answered Hizuren with a smile as he watched Naruto down his last bowl of ramen. He didn't take Naruto out to eat as frequently as Asuma or Anko because of his busy schedule so he didn't notice the little nuance that they had. "But you'll be back for the Chuunin Exam, though, which is just six months."

Hinata and Sakura let out a gasp when they heard that answer. Tenten, who was standing between the two, reached her arms around them both and gave them a comforting hug. It was easier for her to act nonchalant about it; however, inside she wished he would be around for her to get to know him better.

"Hehe," Wu pretended to hold in his laughter, which only drew more attention. "With three young ladies needing your attention, you better learn from your dad's mistake … not to neglect any of them … or there will be hell to pay."

Naruto's face flashed a blush and quickly turned into one being extremely annoyed. He wanted to give Wu a piece of his mind, but Anko was faster.

"Shut your traps Wu! Only I can get away insulting my 'Suma-kun."

Asuma glanced back and forth between his former KungFu ShiFu and his soon-to-be fiancée and sighed. _'Things will never get dull with her, will it?' _His mouth formed a small smile as he thought about proposing tonight._ 'Maybe that's not a bad thing after all.'_

"What are you smiling about?" Anko suddenly snapped at him. "You'd better not be thinking about taking after the gaki's dating habits."

"I was not!"

"I don't have … I'm not dating!"

Anko ignored the respective, simultaneous shouts from the adoptive father and son. She walked up to her beau and twisted his right ear while saying, "Now that your son's awake, you have no more excuses," dragging him behind as she passed the three blushing girls and exited out of the room, heading to the nearest hotel room.

After an obviously-exaggerated act of shuttering in fright, Wu looked at Naruto and said, "Just think," tilting his head toward the three fan-girls while winking, "you got three times the problem."

Kakashi gave way to his perverted giggles as he came across a favorite scene of his in that infamous Icha Icha in his hands. The giggle _coincidentally_ happened right after Wu's comment and caused the blush on the girls to deepen in shade.

Tenten thought to herself, _'Four if you count the absent Ino.'_

Hizuren inconspicuously cleared his throat. Making eye contact with the remaining adults in the room, he said, "Since that Naruto is awake and already on his way to recovery, it's time for us grownups to return to our posts and tend to those items we had been neglecting."

"Ossu," replied Kakashi and Yuugao jointly with a short bow. They exited the room, one heading toward Inuzuka compound looking for Sasuke, and the other heading toward the ANBU headquarter to pack for that assassin mission she had been putting off.

Wu and the Sandaime were to last to go, and the Taoist priest had only left because of Hizuren's persistent insistence.

Once the adults were gone, the room became awkwardly silent, save the noisy hospital equipments humming in the background. The girls remained near the entrance door, having not quite made their way fully into the room yet.

Naruto couldn't quite comprehend why that was so. It seemed as if they were afraid of him. He put on his infamous false smile and said, "Don't worry. You can't catch what I have."

That broke the ice and got a light chuckle from the girls as they moved in closer to Naruto. Having just witnessed so many accomplished ninjas (and one weird looking foreigner with a commanding presence) in one room – all caring for their favorite blond – had been not only intimidating, but had also made their presence and any childish romantic notion seemed out-of-place and insignificant.

As they got closer, Naruto squinted his eyes and thought, _'What is this!?'_ His hands frantically went to his eyes and rubbed them as if to make certain that he wasn't seeing a mirage of sorts.

'_What happened to my eyesight?'_

He could not comprehend why the girls looked slightly but noticeably blurry when they stood by the doors and why their image became clearer once they got closer. When the Nine-Tails was still active, he never had to experience any blurry images, especially with distance of a room so confined as this patient room. _'Kyuubi …. That must be why….'_

Before his thoughts could delve further into the vast amount of adjustments he would now have to make due to what that despicable Wu had done to Kyuubi, he was interrupted as he caught Sakura's words mid sentence.

"… do you feel, Naruto-kun?" asked Sakura, the first of the girls to speak. That was the line that she had been rehearsing since her arrival at the hospital. It wasn't that she didn't know _how_ to talk to Naruto, like the blue-haired Hyuuga next to her. It was just that if she hadn't plan for at least _something_ to say, she wouldn't know _what_ to say to someone in a hospital.

"Dunno yet," replied the blond honestly, though slightly annoyed that his thoughts were abruptly interrupted, "I think I'm … normal."

'_Why do I have the feeling that he didn't mean that in a good way?' _mused Tenten while turning her head to see if Naruto's classmates had picked up the same vibe. _'Hm… I guess I'm overthinking things.'_

Normal.

That used to be what Naruto wanted to be more than anything in the world when he was younger … when he was an orphan, ignored and unloved … when everyone thought of him as some_thing_ to be shunned.

But now ... he would give anything to turn back the hands of time so as to reverse his own acts of stupidity in the mindscape. At least before Kyuubi's current dormancy, he knew he could always count on her chakra to heal him if and when he had to go all out to protect his precious people. With his security blanket gone ….

"Why are you leaving us, Naruto-kun?" asked Sakura. "If you go, what's going to happen to Team 7?"

Even though the three Genins on the so-called "Team 7" had just barely made their row call – they had only met once, and that was a mandatory introduction meeting with their sensei, had no experience together in doing any missions and did not even have a skills assessment – Sakura still had not gotten over how she scored not only one but both of the co-Rookies of the Year, Sasuke and Naruto, on the same team and subconsciously took every opportunity to remind other fan-girls, and herself, of her good fortune.

Perhaps she was also worried how embarrassing it would look in front of all the other fan-girls if Naruto's departure lead to the dismemberment of Team 7, which would mean her losing not only Naruto as a teammate, but Sasuke as well.

Naruto briefly furrowed his brows slightly at Sakura for interrupting his thoughts again, but quickly reassembled his fake smiling face and replied, "Well, Sakura-chan, I'm sure Anko-sensei will be more than adequate to fill in my spot during my absence. Plus, I heard she'll be your personal sensei; you should be happy."

"Wow, I wish I can get a personal sensei," whispered Tenten with an obvious tone of disappointment that one of her competitions for Naruto's affection would receive what seemed to her an unfair advantage to get stronger. Plus, she had heard about Anko and her mastery in a few of the weaponries that she had been dying to get Gai to show her.

Hinata was about to speak up when she heard Sakura hogging the air waves again.

"Why do I need another sensei anyway?" asked Naruto's teammate while shrugging off comment about how elated she should have been toward this rare privilege. "Isn't Kakashi-sensei enough?"

Tenten was about to give the bubblegum head a speech on the seriousness of being a Kunoichi ….

"Normally yes," replied Naruto, unknowingly cutting off Tenten's initiatives, "but … well … this way, he'll be able to give Sasuke-teme some one-on-one."

Hinata giggled timidly, relieved that Naruto was feeling up to some of his classroom antics.

Sakura, however, did not find it funny. Twitching her lips in annoyance at Naruto and Hinata, she shouted at the blond, "Hey! What do you have against Sasuke-_kun_, anyway?"

"Uh… nothing, Sakura-chan," replied Naruto while his left hand scratched his head, not really sure why she was yelling at him, since this was not the first time Naruto called Sasuke a teme in front of her. "Sasuke-teme" and "Naruto-dobe" were what Naruto and Sasuke called each other, respectively. In truth, they were good friends, or at least Naruto would like to think they were.

All this talk about Sasuke was making Sakura feel as if she had forgotten something. Her eye widened, and she quickly made her exit while waving goodbye. "Naruto-kun, Tenten, and Hinata, I have to go. I just remembered that Sasuke-kun told me to meet him somewhere for lunch."

She left too quickly for Naruto to stop her, and he had not recovered enough strength to chase after her, or so he believed. There were some things he wanted, no, _needed_, to tell her about their Uchiha teammate. Things that he had found disturbing, especially the evil stare that Sasuke had used against Ino when Iruka-sensei was announcing the team placements.

Alas, he no longer had a reason to strain his voice. She was already too far away to hear him.

"Um, N-naruto-k-kun."

The said blond stared one last time at the door where he last saw Sakura leaving abruptly before turning his eyes to the speaker.

"Yeah, Hinata-chan?"

Staring at her hands and pressing her index fingers together, Hinata managed to voice, "You s-still haven't answer the qu-question _why_ you need to leave."

Tenten nodded in agreement and gave her a wink before saying, "That's right Hinata. He almost weaseled out on us."

"Oh, hehe," chuckled the blond who was hoping that they would not have noticed. Naruto could not really answer that question without divulging two SS-ranked secrets, namely his being the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi and the candidate of someone very important, if he was to correctly understand that weirdly dressed, but creepily fast Wu guy.

It was not that he was afraid or lacked the desire to share his secrets. Kami knew that he of all people wanted to open up and connect with people. Although the brunt of his loneliness had been fronted by the Sarutobis adopting him, he still felt like an outsider, unable to drop his mask completely or trust that any in his age group would see him as _human _if they were to find out about the Nine-Tails.

Naruto sighed and said, "My dad said that Master Wu taught him a few skills when he was away on his own training mission. Er … I think it must be a Sarutobi tradition."

It was the best nonclassified answer he could come up with.

Hinata might be timid, but she was far from stupid or gullible. Although her Hyuuga training detected no falsehood in Naruto's statement or body language, she was able to tell that Naruto was not disclosing everything.

She sighed after him, knowing that her crush was far from ready for a relationship, not that she was brave enough to approach him about one … yet.

While the Hyuuga heiress was talking with Naruto, Tenten was staring at the sword leaning against the nightstand – the same one that she had seen Naruto carry when they first met. Though it was not as masterfully crafted as Wu's was, Tenten could still see that the sword was special in its own right.

She picked it up like someone who knew how to hold one and twirled it in her hand, checking out its lightness. Impressed, she stepped into her own little world, oblivious to the fact that she was holding Naruto's sword or that others might be watching her. Smiling, she pulled it out of its sheath and performed two quick rudimentary slice strokes.

"Jiji gave that to me on my tenth birthday," the sword owner said to her, impressed by the way she was examining it.

Tenten, awaken from her own stupor, blushed that she had been caught committing such a gross faux pas.

Most ninja combats were won because one side underestimated its opponents or failed to retain the element of surprise, which mostly stemmed from unique clan techniques, Kekkei Genkai, or special weaponry. Thus, things attributing to that "surprise" were usually guarded secrets and not looked at kindly when someone, even from the same village, snooped around, which was essentially what Tenten was doing.

Downplaying her mistake, Naruto asked, "So what do you think of it?"

Gingerly Tenten placed the sword back into its sheath and returned it to its place, leaning next to the nightstand.

"Sorry about that. I get carry away sometimes when I see an unusually rare weapon. Your sword looks like it's been passed down through quite a few skillful swordsmen. It has very few recent scratch marks, which means either the one that had it before you either didn't use it very much, or he was very good with it. I believe it's the latter."

Naruto smiled approvingly while saying, "Yeah, I believe he was too."

(Unbeknownst to them both, they were mostly correct about the sword's previous wielder. They were only wrong about her gender.)

"Really?" asked the elated weapon specialist, who then continued to ramble, "Did you notice this scratch on …?"

At that moment, Naruto suddenly blanked out briefly, during which a flash of blank nothingness surrounded him as he heard a muffled voice sounding out something incoherent in the background.

When his consciousness returned to him, he whispered, "_Kyu?_"

Tenten and Hinata looked puzzled at each other and mouthed _Nine_ after Naruto.

"Ano, N-naruto, are you m-missing s-something?" asked Hinata, while activating her Kekkei Genkai, hoping to find whatever it was that had nine of.

That familiar welcoming voice brought him back to reality. Naruto covered his mouth and gasped as he realized what he had nearly said.

Seeing that Hinata already has her Bakyugan activated, the blond asked, "Hinata-chan, can you check on Sakura and Sasuke for me, please? Don't ask how I know, but I think they are in trouble."

The blue-haired girl nodded and poured more chakra into her eyes with a focused intent.

The room became silent again, save the faint beeping equipments in the background.

Hinata focused first on the training grounds, nearby which the hospital was conveniently built. Nothing. Her focus then shifted towards the few nearby restaurants such as Naruto's favorite ramen stand. Fruitless again. Finally her search took her to just outside the library where she saw Sakura running toward Sasuke, who was waiting under a tree out front.

"Found them," she announced. Just when she was about to end her technique and let fatigue overcome her ….

"Was there anyone lying in wait for them?" asked Naruto urgently.

Hinata made one last attempt and before long she gasped in shock and allowed her Byakugan to collapse with it.

"Naruto-kun …."

That gasp was the only confirmation Naruto needed. Not waiting for Hinata to finish her sentence, the blond flung the covers off of him, swung his legs to the side, and jumped on to the floor.

"… two of them …"

While Hinata continued explaining, Naruto quickly got dressed. When he was slipping on his sandals, he paused barely long enough to process an alarming detail of Hinata's report.

"… some cloak with cloud patterns."

Naruto's eyes widen and whispered, "No!"

Just as he was getting ready to run out the door, in the corner of his eyes, he saw his sword sailing towards him. He quickly caught it and said, "Thanks, Ten-chan!"

"But, Naruto …" Tenten started to say.

"Oh, don't follow me," he told them while making an extra effort to turn around just long enough to make eye contact with them to cement his seriousness. "Go and get the Hokage and tell him that Akatsuki is here."

Then he was out of the room, running at a pace faster than Hinata or Tenten ever thought possible for someone who just woke up from a three-day coma.

Tenten was in disbelief though, and Hinata soon found out why.

"… I didn't throw that sword to you," the bun-haired brunette whispered what she had originally wanted to say to the departed boy. "… it just sorta flew to you."

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto was running as fast as he could physically manage after having been bedridden for the past three days, which was not fast at all. For every step he pounded onto the ground, he felt the ground punishing his feet. Pain from them shot to his knees. Although this was normal to anyone else exerting oneself running, this feeling was new to the _changed_ Naruto and nearly had him tripped on his tenth stride.

Before the Kyuubi suppression, he would have pumped chakra into his legs and jumped out of the window from his room on the third floor. Now, still holding off on attempting to mold chakra, he was left with taking the flight of stairs.

He cursed at himself, "Damn! You had to tick that Wu-baka off before asking him if you could mold chakra."

Once he got to the first floor and seeing the big crowd of well-wishing fan-girls, however, all precautionary measures came off. He would rather be back in that damnable hospital bed for three weeks more than hoping to survive a female mob half the size of the Wave population.

Doing it out of impulse more than having carefully thought it through, he channeled energy into his legs and leapt over the crowd before him, somersaulting in mid air, and landed under the front doors of the hospital main entrance. He did not even take the time to be astonished at how he had managed such a feat. He continued running towards the library, unbeknownst to him, at a much faster pace.

The girls that had gathered were naturally disappointed now that their object of infatuation had just left the building. Something unusual caught the attention of one of the girls closest to reaching Naruto before he'd performed that acrobatic leap.

She bent down for a closer examination and found the ground where Naruto had taken flight was slightly crackled. From its epicenter, the crackling web rippled outward, forming an indentation on the floors.

She gasped in an undertone, "Whoa!"

…o.0.O.0.o…

'_What should I do now?_' the running blond thought to himself. _'I don't have Kyuubi, so I can't use any of the chakra consuming techniques, which means most of the B and some of the C-ranked techniques are out, not that I trust my chakra control now anyway.'_

Seeing the crowd of merchants and civilians alike bustling in the path before him, he leapt to the roof and continued his run on the roof tops.

He was so deep in thought, weighing out his options, that he was completely oblivious to _how _he had managed to reach the rooftops without conscientiously molding chakra and priming his leg muscles with it.

Finally he got to the roof of the last building before the library. His left hand held tightly onto his sword as he whispered to it while leaping off to the ground, "Looks like it's just me and you, Yuutou!"

Once he landed he felt flying projectiles aiming at the back of his knees, his neck, and his shoulder blades. Having studied the pressure points from the manuscript of the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances, he knew that if those were to connect, he would have been immediately disabled.

'_The guy that threw these must be either trained as a medic-nin or trained in the ANBU art of silent killing,'_ reasoned Naruto as his right hand drew out Yuutou and his body turned in synch with his sword movement to pare off the incoming senbons.

The sheath in his left hand knocked one senbon away as the sword in his left hand sliced through two, but the two originally aiming for his shoulder blades got through his defense, nailing him on each of his front shoulders instead.

'_If only I weren't handicapped by what recently happened to me….'_

Naruto had no time to further his internal musings. He quickly pulled out those two senbons and focused on calming his nerves for the ensuing battle ahead.

Before him stood a behemoth of a _something_, a blue skinned, half shark, half man entity carrying a caveman club-sized weapon wrapped in white cloth tape and a shorter Itachi look-alike.

Naruto squinted his eyes just to be sure. It was _not_ an Itachi look-alike; it _was_ Itachi, the one and the same double agent that he had met four years ago when he was moving his stuff from his apartment to the Sarutobi compound.

"Hello, you must be the Nine-Tails," spoke the stoic Uchiha.

'_If he's here, then….' _Naruto glanced from Itachi to the taller Akatzuki,_ 'That must be his partner … I cannot give away his cover….'_

"Where are my teammates?" Naruto shouted the question vehemently to Itachi and Kisame.

"Hmph! This gaki is what Leader wants?" Kisame asked Itachi as he let out a belittling chuckle toward Naruto. "Don't you know your manners before your elders? Introduce yourself so my Samehada will remember what a Fox tastes like."

Naruto's mind blanked out for a second before he regained himself again. It was the same feeling of lost of control that he had experienced in the hospital, where right after which, he suddenly had a premonition that Sasuke and Sakura were in trouble.

This time Naruto _knew_ that this _was_ Kyuubi. It was as though his tenant was showing her disfavor at the blasphemous comment coming from the shark-like shinobi. True, Wu's Qi Suppression Technique had certainly brought the curtains down on Kyuubi's unchecked influence over Naruto – it most definitely had cut off access to Kyuubi's abundant chakra and healing powers. However, the bijuu refused to be denied and was still able to make her presence felt.

Albeit, at the moment, the unsatisfactory outcome on her attempts to connect with her host was more a hindrance than a succor to him.

"Kisame," called out the double agent, thus giving Naruto the name of his partner, "go but don't draw too much attention."

Naruto steadied himself behind the crisscross of his sword and sheath, trying his best to recall the sword lessons with Kyuubi in his mindscape and those chants of the Nine Stances.

As his mind desperately tried to catch up from past to present, he saw the shark-skinned shinobi and that club-looking weapon speeding toward him.

And as if he wasn't already under enough pressure, out of the corner of his vision, he saw Sasuke and Sakura lay unmoving under the tree outside the library.

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **Hi! First I want to say thank you for those who have given me your input on whom to pair Naruto with and whether to do the Wave arc. Unfortunately, due to my current busy Real Life, I was not able to respond to all of your wonderful reviews, and for this, I am sorry.

Secondly, I had plans to take Naruto out of the village by this chapter, but as the chapter progresses, it took an unexpected turn on its own, so here we are. His departure will be delayed for another chapter or two.

Finally, a very special thanks to KyLewin for betaing my chapters. Unfortunately, due to us not being able to catch one another before press time, this chapter wasn't beta'ed. Hopefully the next one will be.


	12. NeoNaruto

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 12: NeoNaruto**

…o.0.O.0.o…

This chapter is longer than last chapter. Hope it was worth the wait.

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto steadied himself behind the crisscross of his sword and sheath, trying his best to recall the sword lessons with Kyuubi in his mindscape and the chants of the Nine Stances.

As his mind desperately tried to recall the past and bring it back to the present, he saw the shark-skinned shinobi carrying a club-looking weapon speeding toward him.

And as if he wasn't already under enough pressure, out of the corner of his vision, he saw Sasuke and Sakura lay unmoving under the tree outside the library.

He had already realized that he was severely outclassed by these two powerhouses. Well, actually, just one, if he was to consider Itachi an ally; though at the moment, he would probably not be of any help since he was an ally whose duty it was to serve the greater good of Konoha. Were Itachi to help Naruto, it would blow his cover and compromise his espionage mission.

In the back of his mind, Naruto knew that all he had to do was hold out long enough for help to come. The question was, _Could he? _He knew that no matter what the answer to that question was, he _had to_. He had to do it at least long enough for Itachi to record a report for the Hokage in his mindscape, just like he'd done so when they'd met four years ago. _If _that was still where his loyalty lay, and _if _there was anything to report.

Looking for a quick and easy capture was probably why Kisame was running towards him instead of waiting for him to make a move.

The shark-man had probably guessed that Naruto had already alerted _someone_ and that the sooner he completed the capture, the less likely they would have to return to Leader empty handed.

As he sped closer to what he thought would be an easy capture, he swung the Samehada at Naruto's head. The boy backflipped and dodged it with ease, which had been Kisame's intension all along.

Kisame smirked as he felt a large pool of chakra being absorbed into his prized weapon. His smirk deepened as he noted how much larger Naruto's chakra supply was than those he had gathered from Itachi's little brother and that pink-haired Genin girlfriend of his.

The abundance was not as large as he was expecting from the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-Tailed Chakra Powerhouse, but it was still substantially satisfying. Mentally, Kisame shrugged off what he deemed to be an insignificant discrepancy.

Naruto, unaware of Kisame's true intent in using a sword stance that made his attacks relatively easy to dodge, felt a surge of confidence in his ability to at least delay them until the arrival of his Jiji's personal ANBU … that was, at least in his mind, if Itachi was not put in a position where he had to join the fight.

And as long as he could keep their fight relatively distant from Itachi, Naruto reckoned that the double agent would not have to prove his loyalty to those he was supposed to work for.

Using the momentum he had built when he backflipped to dodge the Samehada's head sweep, his legs cartwheeled upward, kicking Kisame's sword-holding hand in hopes of disarming him. Of course, such as effort from someone as small and relatively weak as he was had no chance of loosening Kisame's grip.

The blond Genin's actions were almost comical, and definitely pathetic, in Kisame's mind. Here was a puny little boy, barely taller than Kisame's waistline, trying to hold off two S-class Missing-Nins.

Kisame's smirk became more sinister when he saw the determination in the eyes of Naruto after he righted himself from his backflip. The audacious boy – now standing a good distance from him – was going the fight _him _instead of yielding to common sense: give up, live, fight again some other day.

Deciding a need to teach the gaki some real life lessons – lessons that a relatively peaceful and peace-loving village such as Konoha would normally not teach their Genins – Kisame rapidly formed some hand seals, took a deep breath, and spew out a small geyser of water, hitting Naruto square in the chest, knocking the boy to his butt.

From the resulting water puddle near Naruto raised a copy of the shark-skinned Akatsuki. It walked over to the fallen boy and raised one of its feet, attempting to stump at the boy's head.

Still feeling a little dazed from getting knocked down earlier, Naruto barely had time to gather himself, take note of his surroundings, and roll to his left to avoid that crushing blow. As he did, he quickly sliced his sword through the water clone, dispersing it.

"Not bad," said Kisame. He was not really trying to kill Naruto. If he really wanted the boy dead, he could easily have done so in one move. Plus, doing so would defeat the objective of their mission. That did not mean he could not rough the boy up a bit, toy with him, or break his spirit.

In the back of Naruto's mind, as he pushed himself off the ground, he remembered what his adoptive father was trying to tell him one time after a sparring session.

_"Naruto, remember not to get cocky. You've been taught many things by many talented people, and you are indeed talented for your age. But you've never been in a real battle, staring at the eyes of your enemy, who may even be many times stronger and bigger than you. They won't fight you like we do when we spar. They'll be fighting you for real." Asuma said in a serious_

_"I know that, Dad!"_

_"I don't think you get it. You don't know what it's like to overcome someone who has the exact opposite objective as you, wanting to do nothing more than stopping you from accomplishing your goal, your mission. And you certainly don't know what it's like to have to make a choice of whether to take such a person's life or to sacrifice your comrades for the greater good of the mission, of the village."_

_"Dad, don't worry, I won't get TOO cocky. Plus, won't we be in a 3-men cell led by our Jounin-sensei?"_

_"You're missing the point ... you'll understand when the time comes."_

Dusting himself off, Naruto just realized that Asuma was not telling him not to underestimate his opponents or not to think too much of his own abilities. Rather, Asuma was trying to explain that the realities of a battle could not be taught through training or lectures. They could only be learned through and during a real life battles.

It mattered not how many jutsus Naruto learned, how privileged of a clan library he grew up having access to for the past four years, or how well-grounded and diversified his training from his senseis were. Naruto now knew that in battle experience trumps knowledge any day.

That did not mean he wasn't going to try.

However, at the moment, Naruto was still wary about molding chakra. There was still too much unknown. For example, what would happen if something backfired this time? If it was only his life on the line, he would probably not care about the consequences.

But, with the fate of his teammates still uncertain, only attacks not dependent on chakra usage were viable; which meant ….

Naruto charged forward, using the footwork for the sword dance that Yuugao-sensei had taught him, spinning his body in synch with his arm movements and crisscrossing his sword and sheath in a sublime combination of both offense and defense.

This sword dance was the same one that, unbeknownst to him, had been taught to a select few by his very own mother, Uzumaki Kushina.

Unfortunately, the blond Genin was too busy executing his movements to notice the momentary surprise on Kisame's face at seeing the all too familiar movement that he had seen his own partner practice so many times when they were alone.

The shock came and went. Kisame felt no need to dwell on it. Since Uchihas were well known for their technique copying Sharingan, the blue-skinned Akatsuki dismissed the unlikelihood that there might be something more to the similarities between Itachi's and Naruto's sword dance, reasoning that his stoic partner had probably copied it off someone in Konoha with his bloodline limit.

This minor detail, like the one about the unexpectedly low amount of chakra that his weapon had absorbed, was ignored.

Naruto moved surprisingly quickly for someone his size and closed the distance between them and launched himself into the air, with his sword and sheath forming a scissors pattern aiming to behead his fiendish foe.

Had Naruto been a few years older – with his body matured to a more respectable height and built – Kisame might have taken such a lethal move, and such a dangerous sword dance more seriously, for he was well aware what this dance combination could do in Itachi's hands. With Naruto, however ….

Kisame spun right, pivoting clockwise on the ball of his left heel and effortlessly dodging Naruto's attack. Since his Chakra Eater had been resting on his right shoulder, the spin also meted out the perfect counteract, catching Naruto in the back by surprise.

Fortunately, the kunai-dodging training with Anko paid off. The subconscious reflexes baked into Naruto's muscles through those countless hours spent enduring Anko's sadistic tortures warned him of the incoming hit.

Reacting almost instinctively, Naruto lowered his arms, disengaging the sheath-and-sword crisscross attack, and swung them behind him, crossing the weapons upward to form a defensive structure this time, hoping against all logic that this would be enough.

"Urgh!" grunted Naruto in pain as he felt something ripping his weapons from his hands while callously shaving the now unshielded area on the his back, shredding that portion of his ninja attire, splashing blood and exposing open flesh to the unforgiving cold air.

Pain was another thing that Naruto had yet to become accustomed to in his new sans-Kyuubi-aided self. Without the soothing, numbing and healing effects of his tenant's chakra, he was left to deal with the excruciating pain of the torn flesh on his back like any other normal shinobi.

Naruto was not afraid of pain. He certainly had more than his share of it in the orphanage; however, these four years with the Sarutobis had been kind to him. Besides the occasional minor cuts, scrapes, and bruises he had incurred during training, which were quickly mended by his tenant, he had experienced nothing close to pain of this extent.

Then he felt something grabbing his right ankle, halting his forward momentum in mid air.

Naruto bent his head, trying to peek at what caught him while his left leg was kicking wildly at whatever that had snagged his right ankle as gravity took hold of his body. Once he found out that the offending object was Kisame's left hand, his free leg gathered every last bit of his strength and aimed it at the Shark-man's grip.

His kick hit air, which invited a series of chuckles from his fiendish opponent.

Kisame had released him the very last second, causing his miss and his body to fall even faster. Ignoring the radiating pain on his back, Naruto clutched his jaws as he moved awkwardly in efforts to right himself before landing.

The pain receptors in his brain did not get to process the feedback from his wounded back for too long. This was because it got bumped down the list of priorities by something far more severe and immediate.

"Umph!" came the sound from his throat as air was forcefully expelled from his lungs.

His eyes bulged out in shock as he saw Kisame retracting a foot from his stomach. The shark-skinned shinobi had just kicked him there, hard. He did not believe it was possible to experience that kind of pain and still remain conscious. The pain from the wound on his back was nothing compared to the new level of pain he was experiencing.

Then, Naruto felt something, perhaps the content of his stomach, the ramen that Anko had purchased an hour ago, inching up his esophagus as he sailed in the air.

Instead of tasting the partially digested vomit in his mouth, as his rather naive mind was anticipating, his tongue encountered something familiar but hard to place – something warm, salty, and copper-ish. He got a feeling whatever that fluid was, it would mean something worse than would a simple stomach content.

'_Blood!'_

Turning his attention back to the situation at hand, Naruto realized that the force carried by Kisame's kick had also propelled his small body much farther than he had initially planned for, taking him close to Itachi, and distancing him from his teammates' what-he-was-hoping-were-just-unconscious bodies.

As much as he would like to play hero right now, Naruto could not afford to think about anything else but how he was going to prepare for landing when he was not sure if he was in any condition to right himself mid air or to bring his arms back to the front again to brace him for what might be a potential face-first landing.

Biting hard on his teeth, he bared with the pain as he pulled his legs under his body and brought his arms forward.

As the ground approached, his mind blanked out again for a brief second as his tenant made yet another less than stellar attempt to mind-link. Unfortunately, it was a most inopportune brief second to have his concentration interrupted.

Naruto made a mental note that once this was over, he was going to visit his tenant and yell his head off at her using all the curse words his twelve-year-old mind had picked up. He was not sure if she would still be able to hear him through Wu's Qi barrier, but he knew _he_ would definitely feel better afterward.

"Umph!"

Naruto's lungs gave out the excess air as he mistimed the landing, his face and chest receiving an abrupt introduction to the ground, which was only a few meters away from Itachi.

Seconds later, his Yuutou and its sheath embedded themselves into the ground on either side of his head.

"Heh, heh," chuckled Kisame as he walked leisurely back to his partner and Naruto's fallen body while addressing the Genin, "and you call yourself a ninja! Where I came from, my Genin graduation Exam was to slaughter everyone else in my class. I graduated because I was the last one standing."

"That ..." Naruto muttered as he struggled to turn his head to the side so that his mouth was no longer buried in the grass.

" ... is the ... " he whimpered after he forced his arms to ignore the pain radiating from his wounded back and push his chest off the ground.

" ... stupidest thing ... " he managed in between coughs as he pulled air into his much deflated lungs. The red blotches on the ground confirmed that his injuries were more serious than he had thought. And there was no Kyuubi healing him this time.

Naruto was now on all fours, willing himself to stand up.

" ... I have ever heard," the blond finished with a labored grunt after he managed to stand on his legs, _barely_. He was heavily bent over, using his arms to distribute the majority of his torso weight onto his knees.

Given the boy's close proximity to him, Itachi could clearly see that the wound on Naruto's back, which was facing him, was not healing as quickly as the injuries he remembered seeing four years previous.

The normally emotionless Uchiha furrowed his eyebrows slightly and only for a brief second as he pondered, _'Why isn't he healing?'_ Despite not planning on feeding chakra to his bloodline at all in this visit, at least not this early in the game, his curiosity got the better of him as he reluctantly activated his Sharingan, tomoe-commas spinning in the blazing red irises.

What he saw – the lack of chakra aiding the open wound – did indeed confirm his conjecture: Something had happened to Kyuubi. Now the question was _what_. Only two possibilities: Either Naruto was no longer the Jinchuuriki of Kyuubi, or someone had somehow blocked her from Naruto. He wanted to explore more … he wanted to enter Naruto's mindscape and find out himself, but he was willing to wait for the right moment. Once he made up his mind, his eyes returned to their normal color.

Meanwhile, with his attention still on the boy, Kisame secretly applauded the twelve-year-old's tenacity, but questioned his sanity. He continued, "It's no wonder my partner abandoned this pathetic village. Heh ... since no one wants you and there's nothing for you here anyway, why don't you come with us?"

"Shut the hell up! I'll never join the likes of you!" shouted Naruto, his body trembling in anger and pain as he continued to gingerly wean the weight of his upper torso off his knees.

"Hmph! Don't tell me you actually think that people here _care_ about you?" Kisame asked mockingly. "All they care about are _themselves_! The fact that someone, doesn't matter who, protects from them from the Nine-Tails is all that matters in their eyes. They don't care about you, your feelings, or your welfare. In fact, they think you are the Nine-Tails itself."

In defiance, Naruto willed his body to ignore all pain and made a final push to stand tall. He shouted with more vigor than before, "You don't know what you're talking about! I have people who cares about me here, and who I care about...." - images of Jiji, Asuma, Anko, Iruka, Kakashi, Tenten, Hinata, and faces of many other friends he'd made at the Academy flashed in his mind - "... they have become precious to me."

The injured blond grunted as he made a hand cross seal for his signature jutsu and shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Nothing happened.

No chakra surge, no chakra expansion, no chakra pull, no chakra molding, no chakra anything, and certainly no clones.

"Heh! My Samehada absorbs chakra," explained Kisame, ever so smugly. "Like I said before, you should just give up now. A gaki like you doesn't stand a chance against me."

'_Guess there's no point trying any of the other jutsus I learned from Jiji's wonderful clan library, huh?' _pondered Naruto, furrowing his eyebrows.

Just when he wanted to attack Kisame with some Kung Fu moves that Asuma taught him, he found himself engulfed by a large water sphere, which he immediately recognized as one of the Suiton jutsus that he had read about, Suiro no Jutsu.

Naruto held his breath and looked around within the water prison. He saw another Kisame water clone holding him prisoner.

Just then, Naruto felt an overwhelming pressure in his head.

This new sensation overtook his whole body like a heavy blanket threatening to suffocate him. The feeling, the heaviness, was so overwhelming that it robbed his attention from his otherwise unbearably painful injuries.

His first guess was that it had something to do with his tenant trying to mind-link with him again, but the feeling was not the same as that of Kyuubi's attempts. This time, the signals were much stronger, more refined and focused. Another deviation was that he did not blank out like before.

Paradoxally, this "pressure" was making his mind feel more alert than before, though at the same time he felt as if he was somehow losing control of himself, of his body, and of his independent thoughts. It was as if his mind was no longer connected to his body, as if his conscience took on a detached ethereal form; and for the duration of this _whatever-this-was_,he was looking on the events unfolding before him as a bystander. This feeling was absolutely surreal.

In Naruto's head, voices that started from silent whispers too faint to be heard when Wu infused Qi into him three days ago at the waterfalls had been growing gradually and now had become booming echoes too ambient in his mind to ignore. The echoes chanted the verses from the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances and the Nine Yangs of Qi manuscripts. These chants were resonating from his memory into every fiber of his body. They were so overlapping and convoluted that it was difficult for Naruto to distinguish which were from the Nine Stances and which were from the Nine Yangs.

All the while that Naruto was experiencing what could be termed as an internal mutiny, one within his own consciousness, Kisame had finished closing in on him. The shark-man fiend now stood in front of what he thought to be a shell-shocked boy, one so panic-stricken that he had become paralyzed with fear.

Kisame's left hand made a quick hacking motion aimed at Naruto's neck, intending on knocking the boy unconscious, similar to what he had done to the other two Genins.

Naruto saw his opponent's strike coming. In fact he saw it coming the moment Kisame's arm muscles twitched, much like the times he'd fought in his mindscape, capable of anticipating his opponents' move by reading the subtleties of their muscle twitches.

'_What the hell?'_ he, or rather the ethereal containment that was his surreal awareness, shouted, but no audible noises came forth. In fact, Naruto wasn't even realizing that his mouth, lips, and tongue remained motionless, uninvolved in his "speaking" efforts.

'_You, neck, dodge!' _he issued another inaudible command to his unresponsive body. _'Move dammit!'_

And he dodged, or at least he thought he did.

As he dodged, he turned to look at Itachi only to find the Uchiha's eyebrows raised high above his activated Sharingan.

Naruto was puzzled by what could possible be startling Itachi so much that even the normally emotionless double agent was having trouble masking his shock.

Cautiously, for he was almost afraid to, Naruto followed Itachi's glance and looked down at himself and found his body was now completely bathed in a hazy lime-colored light and, as if that wasn't weird enough, nearly translucent.

He gasped, or at least tried to, but again his efforts produced no sound.

With all the clues he was gathering, Naruto started to piece together what was happening to him. But there were a few things he did not quite understand, like for example, what had happened to his body?

As soon as he formulated that inquiry in his mind, Naruto felt a tug on him – his whole being, his whole essence. He was being pulled in the direction of the tug and found himself looking at his own tangible flesh.

It. His own material body.

It hadn't dodged Kisame's punch with him; instead, it remained where it had been standing. The only change was now its right hand had moved on its own and caught Kisame's left-handed strike.

If what he saw was not spooking him enough, the fact that without any of his awareness or receiving any command to do so, its or "his" right hand had caught and was gripping hard on Kisame's wrist without making any actual physical skin-to-skin contact. It seemed as though the hand grabbing Kisame was wearing an invisible and ultra-thick glove.

Naruto concluded that his mind got detached from his body somehow; and something else overtook control of it. Either that, or it was moving on its own. _'No, that would be TOO weird.'_

What, though? He didn't think it was Kyuubi … no, it _couldn't _be her.

Turning his attention back to the matter at hand, Naruto could see the shock on Kisame's face as well, the look of incredulity in his eyes. He could even lip read Kisame's curse words as he struggled to free his wrist from "Naruto's" grip.

But what captivated Naruto's thought process was how Kisame was looking at it, the body, instead of him, the mind. Unlike Itachi whose Sharingan were able to see the ethereal manifestation of his mind, his consciousness, Kisame could not see that separation between mind and body and was unaware of the dilemma that Naruto was having.

After some unproductive attempts, Kisame raised his Samehada off his right shoulder and tomahawked it at Naruto, intending on hacking the boy's head off. The success of the mission be damned.

From the sideline, Itachi's Sharingan could see that Kisame was putting everything behind that swing, and carefully readied himself and his Sharingan to send Samehada to another dimension, if needed.

Kisame's speed was so fast that even though Naruto's ethereal awareness was able to see that monstrosity of a sword got within a hair width, he had still yet to register his shock before issuing commands to his rather detached body, hoping against all hopes that it would respond this time. Fortunately, what or whoever that was controlling his body was already aware of the attack and knew what to do.

Much to Naruto's chagrin, his body failed to respond to his commands, and again it moved on its own, tugging at his ethereal form to pattern after its swift movements. It let go of its hold on Kisame's wrist. Its foot stepped forward. Using the momentum channeled through its torso, its left hand holding the sheath gathered to its side and slowly pushed toward Kisame's Samehada.

Even though the sheath was sailing through air, the deliberate movement on "Naruto's" part made it seemed like "he" was pushing against a raging current of water. Whatever speed the boy's body seemed to have moved before had been converted into pure unstoppable and slow-moving inertia.

Kisame smirked, unaware of changes within Naruto. He was amused by the boy's rather sluggish counterattack and his foolishness for attempting to parry the Samehada with a mere scrawny sword sheath. It was like trying to ward off a swinging club with a toothpick.

'_What's going on?'_ Naruto's ethereal manifestation of his mind shouted inaudibly to himself and at his unheeding body. _'How come you slowed down? I'm or we are a sitting duck waiting to be wacked. Speed up dammit!'_

Naruto tried to speed up the attack, he moved forward faster, or his ethereal lime-translucent manifestation of his mind did, hoping that he could drag his body to follow suite, much like how his body was dragging him or his form whenever it moved.

Of course, much like how this had been for him ever since he got imprisoned n that accursed Suiton jutsu, ever since someone or something decided to debunk his mind from his body, everything went against logic. Nothing worked, and Naruto couldn't be more frustrated with his lot right now, not having any control over his member, over his fate, over … just about everything.

Suddenly Naruto saw Kisame's smirk morphed into a puzzled look. Then, he saw the Samehada and the blue-skinned fiend slowing down to match his body's same deliberateness, his mind pieced more clues together, though he ended up with more questions than answers. It seemed to him as if the air around them had arbitrarily congealed into an invisible molasses; it seemed like both of them were moving underwater or pushing through tons of heavy water-soaked sand.

Time seemed to have slowed down. Naruto's sheath and Kisame's Samehada inched closer together in a rather unnaturally snail-crawling pace.

From the sideline, Itachi was in awe of the image his Sharingan was revealing as they were easily captivated by the novelty of an unknown field of energy surrounding Naruto, with a heavy concentration around the sheath on his left hand and the sword on his right. To the Sharingan, waves upon waves of rainbow colors canvassed the air occupying this strange energy.

Of course, without the benefit of having the Sharingan, Kisame was not aware of the phenomenon before him or why he should be taking this more seriously. He maintained his arrogance, confident of his eventual victory despite the peculiarity of the situation.

Just before the attacking metals collided, the toothpick that was the shealth of Yuutou started to circle around the club monstrosity that was Samehada.

After the first revolution, Kisame felt the force exerting against the Samehada increased by ten folds and grunted while trying to keep his sword above ground. Its weight was becoming so unbearable that he had to use his other hand to hold it.

On the Yuutou sheath's second revolution, the blue-skinned Mist Missing-nin could no longer elevate his sword. He was barely able to hold on to its hilt when its oversized length crashed into the ground.

Unheard of! The Akatsuki with more chakra reserve than the better half of the Akatsuki could no longer lift his own signature weapon. Itachi could see that not even Kisame was accepting this turn of events.

However, none was more surprised than Naruto himself, as he continued to reconcile the many unknowns surrounding his lime-translucent self and his separation from his body. Questions – _How? Who or what took over? Would he ever fuse back with his body? – _still lingered in the back of his mind.

'_Surely this is a good thing, right?' _Naruto asked himself, somewhat glad that he – though technically the credit should go to his body, but still him, all things considered – was able to turn the tide of the battle. _'With this power, I can kill Madara, revenge Kyuubi, and do whatever else that needed to be done for this Guardian of the Two Nines thing quick and go back pursuing my goal of becoming Hokage. Why did my life have to get so complicated? I didn't ask for this.'_

With renewed confidence, his goal was not merely to hold the Akatsuki off until help arrive. Now he was starting to believe that he, a mere Genin, could beat an S-ranked Missing Nin by himself, with, of course, help from whomever or whatever taking over his body.

Naruto's body, once finished circling the sheath twice around shark-man's sword, leapt toward him while arching its right arm, readying for a diagonal sword slice. While elevating, its left arm dragged the tip of Yuutou's sheath against the length of the Samehada, blazing a trail of sparks in its wake.

That drag seemed innocent enough, but once the resulting sound from the hollowness of the sheath reached Itachi's ears, the prized weapon of one of the Seven Legendary Swordsmen of the Mist shattered into countless irrecoverable fragments.

Kisame was pissed. How could he not be? His weapon was one of the legendary swords. People had killed and plotted, including himself, to get this weapon, and it was his. _'Why? How?' _he pondered._ 'What, though, had made him a mere Genin baka this powerful? Was this the reason that Leader wanted us to come so early in the game, even though we are not really ready for the bijuu extractions?'_

If he had been properly warned, he would have taken things more seriously, instead of toying with Naruto like how he had done in the beginning. _'If Leader knew about this yet withheld it from us, I would ….'_

Kisame didn't get a chance to finish his thoughts. He saw the boy at the crest of his leap swing his sword for a diagonal slice. Kisame dodged, or so he believed, as he jumped backwards toward his partner Itachi.

In mid flight, he brought his hands together to form the necessary seals for his favorite jutsu, especially when water was not abundantly around … never mind the commotion using such a jutsu would create. At the moment, he was so pissed at what Naruto had done to his Samehada that he wanted to skin the boy alive with a dull knife, even if it meant returning to Leader with a dead Kyuubi Jinchuuriki.

Actually, right now, he didn't give a damn about what Leader would think.

"Suiton: Baku Suishouha," called out Kisame as he tilted his head back to gather himself before expelling water from his gullet.

The water shot forth from his jutsu, but instead of it expanding into a large volume of water like it was supposed to, it got caught up in the circular waves of energy produced by Naruto's sword slice. The water stream got dispersed into tiny droplets scattering all around him and became entrapped in air pockets so small that the droplets were easily absorbed by the dryness of the air.

'_Whoa!'_ Naruto exclaimed incredulously, though he was still inaudible. _'I could get used to this. So what if I have to give up some' _– actually ALL – _'control of my body. I'm such a kickass!'_

The failure of that Suiton jutsu allowed Kisame to see what Itachi was seeing all along with the Sharingan, namely a visual representation of the air of heaviness that had surrounded him a second ago.

Once he landed next to Itachi, the shark-like Akatsuki turned to his red-eyed partner and asked impatiently, "Aren't you going to do something?"

"Yes," replied Itachi in his standard monotone as he jumped into the air, catching a shiny metallic object with a strip of shredded cloth attached to it. Once he landed, he held it out for his blue-skinned partner and said, "I believe this belongs to you."

Kisame touched his uncovered forehead with his left hand and gulped. _'If the aim was any lower, I would be missing more than just the …'_

Before he could grab his forehead protector, Itachi kicked him away while shouting, "Watch out!"

Both Missing Nins had gotten out of the way just before seeing the possessed Naruto standing where they were formerly, with the tip of his sword buried into the ground.

Itachi fed more chakra into his eyes as he activated Mangekyou Sharingan. He wanted, no, _needed_, to test his power against Naruto's entranced state, but more importantly he needed to subdue him – not only to act out his Akatsuki cover, but also to teach Naruto that power without control was no power at all; because from the sideline, his Sharingan clearly read the lips of Naruto's ethereal form.

Power and contol, of which Ninjas were supposed to be the very embodiments. Should the boy who was the Jinchuuriki of the most powerful bijuu and possessor of another source of unfathomable power ever to believe otherwise, much like what his lips had tried to convey, disaster would ensue.

Tried as he might, even feeding more chakra than he knew it was necessary, Itachi still could not access the possessed Naruto's mindscape, or to do anything with the boy that the Mangekyou Sharingan normally could. _'It was as though something or someone had set up an impenetrable barrier in his mind.'_

Just when his right hand was reaching for the katana on his back, Itachi felt an attack coming from behind and instinctively jumped over the sword swing.

But, throughout history, attacks using the Nine Sword Stances had never missed. Ever. If it did, it was intentional.

Itachi's Sharingan could see the truth of that as a wave of that mysterious energy from Naruto's swing continued past him in its trajectory, slicing through a few tall poles, one of which ended up falling in Kisame's direction, while others were falling ever which way. Some smashed onto houses, causing the civilians to panic and flee while shouting "demon child" warnings to their neighbors.

Of course, Kisame saw the pole falling his way. Under normal circumstances, Kisame would have simply knocked something like that away with his bare fist. However, the day had been anything but normal, so he decided to be cautious and dodged instead, not wanting to find another surprise. As he dodged, his hands were forming hand seals for one of his more powerful Suiton jutsus.

Before he could finish, he saw Itachi's body flying directly at him, though he thought he had seen his partner cleanly dodging Naruto's palm strike. Kisame had to abandon his hand seals in lieu of catching his partner's body. Somehow he knew that was Naruto's intention.

Meanwhile, Naruto, or his mind, was throwing everything he could at his body to make it stop its recklessness, but it wouldn't respond to him. He could see it now, how stupid and naïve his thoughts had been to choose power over control, thinking he could play hero instead of being a good little boy, resting in the hospital and letting the grownups handle this.

He was also regretting how the villagers had to run for safety because he had somehow lost control again. It seemed like throughout his life, he was his own Achilles' heel, he and his lack of self-control. He made a silent resolve to never ever lose control again, come what may.

And Naruto, if nothing, was a promise keeper.

As he calmed down, the ethereal form that was his mind gradually settled into his fleshly body, causing more frequent and intense buzzing sensations "snapping" together what Kami had never intended to be apart, until a final unbearable jolt coursed through his whole being.

"Urgh!"

Naruto's painful cry was finally heard once his mind regained control of his body, which unfortunately included an overworked nervous system that had been channeling complaints from his strained limb muscles, shredded skin and flesh on his back, internal abdominal bleeding, potential cracked ribs, and an acid-eroded esophagus – all of which had been sheltered from his mind during its detachment, but now seemed to be bombarding his brain with compounded interest.

Using his sword and sheath to prop himself up as crutches, Naruto fought to remain standing and will his exhausted self from fainting before a smirking Kisame and a pensive Itachi.

Kisame wanted another go at the worn out boy, whose former power seemed to have left him. The gaki had not only destroyed his prized weapon, but had also insulted his nindo by disbanding his hitai-ate. Just thinking about payback made his grin more sinister.

"No, not now," said Itachi, looking into Kisame's eyes with his blazing Sharingan. "Our time is up." Turning to Naruto, the Uchiha said, "Naruto-kun, we'll meet again soon."

With that, the two Akatsuki took off in the direction of the East Gate.

Once they were gone, Naruto's pupils dilated before his heavy eyelids closed down on them as every last ounce of strength left him. His hands loosen their grip on their make-shift crutches, and gravity overtook his unconscious body.

Within a mere second, Wu arrived in time to catch Naruto's falling body before it hit the ground. His eyes squinted at the two fleeing straw hats. For a brief moment, he debated on whether to go after them and decided that since he could not do so without jeopardizing the prophesized Guardian-to-be's safety, he would not interfere with what he deemed to be bad blood between those two and Konoha.

On the other hand, if they were here for Naruto …. Well, if that was the case, his and Master Wong's Successor-in-Training would have to be ready for them the next time they meet.

Wu's thoughts now turned to Naruto. _'Could it be this soon?'_ His two fingers lifted up Naruto's eyelids and confirmed his theory.

He stared in the general direction of the two distancing Akatsuki as he pondered the possibilities.

When Kyuubi was actively occupying Naruto's consciousness, the boy's thoughts never had a chance to be scrambled. Wu did not think the demon fox had done this out of her kindness; rather, she was probably doing it for her own survival and selfish reasons. She wanted, no needed, to maintain her monopoly over Naruto's consciousness, instead of sharing it with others. She would rather not have to compete. Female bijuus were extremely territorial that way.

Now that her influence had been muffled by Wu's Qi, however, nothing was preventing the spirits of the old masters, whose Qi had been residing in the two ancient manuscripts, from taking over Naruto when needed and as they saw fit.

Silently the WuDang Headmaster thanked Itachi for giving the manuscripts to Kyuubi for safekeeping. Such action, whether he knew it at the time, essentially creating a convenient situation that allowed the spirits direct access to take over the boy's body in dire situations such as what had just happened.

Another factor that made it easy was the massive amount of Qi that Wu had pushed into Naruto three days ago to subdue Kyuubi. In fact, it was Wu's residual Qi that kick-started Naruto's fight a moment ago by first circulating throughout Naruto's body. Once Wu's Qi entered the core of Naruto's being, it compounded exponentially with Naruto's innate Qi reservoir, its fire no longer waiting to be kindled.

'_Haha! Looks like training began without me!'_

Wu took a second look at the battered unconscious boy in his arms. Gently he untied the Konoha hitai-ate from his forehead and tugged it away into his sleeves.

It was merely ceremonial, but he needed Naruto to be a civilian before accepting him as an apprentice. Being a "civilian" meant not being apprenticed to any master and not being in servitude to any deity or man, including Kage.

Again, it was merely ceremonial. Wu would give it back in time … should Naruto choose to return.

This WuXia rule was something Wu had kept from the Sarutobis, whom he should have obtained permission from. Although Wu was an honorable man, one who lived by the chivalrous code of the WuXia community, the successful fulfillment of the Dual Guardian Prophecy was too important to be put to risk because of mere formalities. Besides, with one being Naruto's leader and adoptive grandfather and another being his adoptive father, Wu doubted they would have consented to what was essentially going to be a de-konoha-nizing of Naruto.

Sensing people approaching them, he lowered his body and enveloped his arms around Naruto's body while channeling Qi to his legs. As soon as his Taoist cloak draped over them both, he leapt and they were airborne, heading toward the West, toward Mount WuDang.

Wu's single leap should take them well outside of Konoha's gates before needing to land and take another leap.

Seconds later, the Sandaime, Asuma, Kakashi, Yuugao, Anko, Tenten, and Hinata got there. They looked around and saw some puddles of water, shattered pieces of what used to be a sword of some sort, and some ground evidence of a battle. There was still some misting of water that the Sandaime believed to be the residual of a Suiton Jutsu of some kind.

However, neither Naruto nor Wu was anywhere to be found, not even Hinata's Byakugan could locate them. They must have already traveled out of range of her all-seeing Kekkei Genkai.

Kakashi motioned Anko to check on Sasuke and Sakura with him. Anko was a little reluctant at first, but she went anyway, fully aware that teaching Sakura was a direct order from her Kage, and soon to be her future father-in-law, especially when the man was standing right next to her.

Suddenly, the Sandaime yelled, "Get down!"

Hizuren flashed through a set of hand seals for a Doton wall jutsu, just in time to block a Chinese throwing knife, one that Asuma recognized belonging to Wu.

Tied to the knife was a ribbon with message that read, "See you in six months."

…o.0.O.0.o…

My thanks to KyLewin for betaing and providing invaluable suggestions.

**A/N: **This chapter, especially with the part about Naruto and his ethereal form, was hard to write. I had to make more revisions than I care to count, making those scenes clearer and more understandable. If I somehow failed to convey this in the chapter, Naruto's ethereal form is NOT a powered up Naruto, like Gai or Lee with Gates opened. It is simply a visual representation of his mind, nothing more, and doesn't give him power. His power comes from the spirits of the Old Masters of those manuscripts, but as you can see, it does have limitations. Overall, I think I did a decent job, but I'm biased. You however can be frank and let me know how I really did.


	13. WuDang and Kinesthetics

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 13: WuDang and Kinesthetics**

…o.0.O.0.o…

Readers and reviewers, thank you. Hope this is worth the wait.

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

WuDang was more than a name of one of the most prestigious school of KungFu in the WuXia community. It was more than a style of martial arts that embodied the simplicity of nature and the fluidity of time. Nor was it simply an embodiment of how good always triumphed over evil.

It was the name of a literal mountain located somewhere beyond the realm of the shinobial Elemental Nations and the home of arguably the most revered KungFu Master of all time, the late Founder of the WuDang School and Wu's teacher, Zhang SanFeng.

As Wu was arriving to the foot of the said mountain, he looked around at his surroundings - the finger-shaped mountain ranges, the valleys carved by brisk howling winds, and streams of the clearest indigo blue water - taking it all in. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath of the freshest purity infused with the natural mustiness of decomposing matters. It had been four _long _years.

The quickened pace he had set for himself was still too slow by his standards. And now, standing in the middle of the wilderness that he had called home for most of his life, he wished he could have come home sooner.

The travel that normally would have taken Wu only a week's time had taken twice as long. Carrying an extra person on his back had stretched even his limit. Fortunately the child was still unconscious. The Taoist Priest wanted to make good travel time, and _not_ having to be bothered by an annoying twelve-year-old certainly helped.

... though it was _this _annoying twelve-year-old that would eventually free him from his duties as the Guardian of the Nine Stances.

_'Finally, my dreams of becoming one with Nature,' _thought Wu,_ 'not having a care in the world, retired from WuXia, and never having to set foot again into any of the mundane human affairs or their eternal struggle over power and supremacy.'_

His euphoria was interrupted by a flashing mental image of the impatient blond loudmouth. He shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. _'Unfortunately it won't be any time soon.'_

Looking up on the tallest mountain peak, the one poking into the clouds, Wu whispered with a smile, "It's nice to be home." Taking a moment to recirculate his Qi again, he took one last series of leaps, launching himself and his passenger higher and higher, until they were swallowed into the clouds.

Theirs was one of the most obscure, but it was also one of the safest. Few dared to invade their temple, and of the few who had, none had ever lived to tell about it.

Wu could not wait to see his pupils again, especially Chen, the youngest member, the one whom Wu had shamelessly teased before his departure, and also one of the most promising students since Wu himself.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto woke up, or thought he did, to a vast darkness.

He saw nothing. Heard nothing. Smelled nothing.

He whispered into it. At least, he thought he did, but he couldn't hear his own voice.

He began to think this was a dream, or a nightmare, or, _'Am I in the vast nothingness that I'd experienced when Kyuubi was quarantined by Wu's Qi? Where's that clown, anyway?'_

He spun around, only to find himself getting entangled by something in the process. Suddenly he felt his body falling.

Thud!

It felt like he hit the ground. _'Wait! Ground!?'_

He quickly stood up and became quite aware of things tied around his eyes, stuffed into his ears, and masking his nose. His hands quickly found and removed them with a gusto.

The first thing he saw was a bed sheet wrapped around him. _'So that's what that was.'_ The room he was in was rather simple. It looked like a log box with openings for a door and a window. The only furniture inside was the bed from which Naruto had fallen. The blond then cast his eyes on the things in his hand: A set of earplugs, a blind fold made from the toad-patterned cloth used to make his pajamas, and a nose clip.

"What da hell is going on here?" shouted the annoyed boy, "and where is my hitai-ite?" He turned toward the snickering Taoist priest and pointed a finger at him in anger. "You think this is funny?"

"Well, greetings to you to young Fish Cakes," replied Wu with a grin, "and no, I don't think it's funny ... it is funny."

Naruto gave a weak laugh before launching at Wu, ready to punch that grin off his face. In midair, he saw Wu wiggled his fingers, and suddenly he found his body unable to move. It was just like that time in the hospital bed when Wu temporary paralyzed him with some sort of pressure point technique.

'He was able to use hit my pressure points with Qi alone?!' Naruto thought. He might not have Wu's mastery of the pressure point techniques, but he was certainly aware of them and could perform some to a certain degree due to his study of the Pressure Point Map in the manuscript of the Nine Sword Stances.

Wu moved out of the way, and the momentum of Naruto's flying body slammed into the wall, his body remained paralyzed in an awkward rigidity, causing more annoying snickers from Wu.

"Wu-baka, you coward! Release me and fight me like a man!" grunted Naruto, barely able to move his now swollen lips.

"Maybe one day you'll fight me as my equal," snorted Wu, "but right now, Fish Cakes, you're not worth my time. Plus, it's beneath my status as a Headmaster. No offense. It's the honorary code of WuXia that the elders not fight with their younger."

"Bull sh--."

"Na-uh-uh!" said Wu, now close enough to physically press a pressure point near Naruto's vocal cords. "No cursing either! Now, I hope we don't have to do this every time you see me, or else it's going to be six long months."

Wu tapped another pressure point on Naruto's back, and the blond's face slid down the wall as his now movable body collapsed to the ground, only to quickly pick himself back up. He thought about charging at the Taoist priest again, but he stood down, knowing the outcome would be the same.

Still feeling frustrated, though much calmer now than before, Naruto crossed his arms and pouted, "Hmph!"

Wu shook his head and said, "Well, just like I would expect from what Asuma told me. You're a cocky hothead who doesn't like rules. After all, your recklessness in battling those two men in Konoha confirmed as much."

A sudden feeling of overwhelming disappointment came over him as his mind recalled a promise he had made to himself: To never lose control again. As he reflected on how quickly he had just lost composure and charged at Wu, he bowed his head in shame and said, "You're right. I'm sorry."

Chuckling lightly, Wu said, "Don't worry about it. It'll be remedied before you leave."

Naruto looked up to meet Wu's glaze. "I take it we're no longer in Konoha anymore. By the way, what happened to my teammates?"

Nodding sagely, Wu replied, "Your teammates were rescued by your Jiji, so don't worry. I'm sure they were well taken cared for. Welcome to Mt. WuDang, my humble school of martial arts. As you can see outside the windows...."

Naruto's eyes followed Wu's hand gesture and noticed for the first time the field of floating white clouds outside, lightly covering some parts of rocks below before the thickness of its covering continued into the distant horizon.

"... this little cabin is secluded, separate from the rest of the WuDang School. I use it as my meditation room. It will be yours for the time."

Naruto turned his attention back at Wu and gave a series of nods to show his acknowledgment. Silently, he wished Wu would hurry this along so he can look into the clouds some more. He wondered if this Shikamaru-like trait was a subconscious manifestation of homesickness or simply because he was captivated by the novelty of his new surroundings.

Wu continued, "Before I explain to you why you have a blindfold, a nose pinch, and a pair of earplugs, tell me what you remember happened before you collapsed?"

Naruto nodded his head and proceeded to recount the battle, "At first I was having my a--, um butt, handed to me by some shark-skinned guy named Kisame. And when my life was hanging on the balance of the Shinigami, something took over. I then saw my body moving on its own. I was enjoying kicking that shark-teme's a--, um butt, until the civilians started to get hurt. Once I calmed down enough I got my body back again, but by then I was too tired and in too much pain. After they left, everything went black."

"Um ... I see," said Wu sagely. He stroked his beard as he pondered Naruto's account for a moment and explained, "The spirits of the Old Masters from those two manuscripts must have taken over. And as you have already experienced, it can help you out when you are in a bind, but giving up control in order to receive unlimited power, even for a brief moment, may lead to something catastrophic."

"Yeah, I get that now," admitted Naruto solemnly. "So can you help me?"

"Of course!" replied Wu, suddenly with a notable pep in his voice. "After you kowtow to me three times."

"Kowtow?!" shouted Naruto. Surprisingly, he actually knew what that meant. "You mean, me prostrate before you?! Why?"

Wu shrugged and replied, "A WuXia custom? Who knows? Does it matter? All you need to know is if you don't do it, I can't accept you as a student."

"That's a stupid rule," scoffed Naruto. He shook his head. "I'm not doing it."

"Um ... okay. Just shout out, 'Master Wu,' when you change your mind," said the WuDang Headmaster with an all-too-innocent smile as he leapt out of the window.

"Oh, great! Now what am I supposed to do?" whined the exasperated boy as he saw Wu's body dropped into the clouds, which quickly closed the small exit hole and erased any trace of disturbance.

Naruto turned away from the window and examined his room once again. This was to be his for the next six months, so he might as well as make the best of it.

"But how am I going to get stronger here if that Wubaka won't teach me anything," he said to himself. "Maybe I shouldn't have said no to his idiotic rule...." Then, shaking his head feverishly, "No! Never! I'll find another way!"

He walked toward the doorway, which was more like a large hole on the wall, since it didn't have an actual door. Instead, it had strings of beads hanging from the top, acting like some sort of privacy curtain. He brushed a few of the bead strings aside for a peek into the rest of the cabin. It was just an open room. He walked through the bead curtain slowly, constantly watching his surroundings for traps and hidden dangers, not that he was expecting to find any, but having had the kunai-crazed Anko for a sensei, old habits were hard to break.

The room was slightly larger than the bedroom and had a little wood stove, its dwindling fire providing a warm ambiance to an otherwise lonely cabin. Apparently this room also doubled as the kitchen and dining area. On the walls surrounding him were kanjis for Justice, Loyalty, Truth, and Honor. On each of the walls he saw rows of candles hanging with stings.

Naruto walked closer to one of the candle rows and noticed some had slight, but still noticeable sword marks on them, while others were in pristine condition. He concluded, "Wu must have used these for some kind of sword training."

To the other corner Naruto saw another room, one he presumed to be the bathroom. A very small one.

Next to the stove there was a good stockpile of wood. He unconsciously rubbed his hands together in response to his sudden realization of the frigid coldness in this high altitude.

"Brrr!" he said with a shiver as he walked toward the stove and added more wood, then he turned around and focused on the only other object in the cabin that had captured his attention, a low height table similar to the one he had in his own bedroom back in Konoha. On it was an instruction manual titled, "Kinesthetics with Qi Application," with a feather sticking out from one of the pages.

He sat down in front of the table and flipped to the first page and read:

"Kinesthetics is the study and training of one's body's position-movement sensory ability, Kinesthesia. This sensory ability is what allows your fingers to touch your nose when you're blindfolded. Kinesthesia does not enhance your other senses. It is a sense in its own right. With a highly refined kinesthesia, you can function as well as you normally would if you are to lose any or all of your sight, smell, touch, or hearing. The part of your brain that governs kinesthesia is the cerebellum, which is located ...."

Naruto skimmed the rest of the medical details silently until he came to the part that explained how Qi fit into the picture:

"When you train your kinesthesia with Qi, you will be able to FEEL your immediate and near-distant surroundings without using any of your other senses. You will 'feel' everything within the extension of your Qi-enhanced kinesthesia. Everything, living or nonliving, moving or unmoving. You'll 'feel' because the sensation will register as real as the sensation of something landing on your skin. Each breath, each sway of movement, each formulation of perspiration, even the tiniest shift of water vapor will not escape your awareness."

At reading this, Naruto dropped the book on the table and jumped up in excitement. He exclaimed, "Oh Kami! This is the most awesome thing I've ever heard!"

At a much later time, when his loneliness registered and when he thought of the people in Konoha, he would thank Asuma and Hiruzen, his adoptive father and grandfather, for having taken him in and taught him the rudimentary skills which made understanding the manual possible. But for now, he remained resilient to homesickness.

After he finished dancing around the table, he realized that he hadn't actually learned how to train himself in this yet. He resumed his position to continue reading and noticed that the book had opened to the page earmarked by that very conspicuous feather.

"How to train yourself," he read aloud the title at the top. He quickly devoured the instructions and flipped to the next page. "What's this?" he asked himself.

In the center of the page, he noticed a drawing, a man, whose eyes were covered with a blindfold, ears stuffed with earplugs, and nose pinched with a nose pin.

"Hey! That's what that Wu-baka had on me when I woke up this morning," voiced Naruto, who had finally found a solution to his dilemma. "Who said I need him anyway?"

Happy that he no longer needed to kowtow to Wu in order to get stronger, he ran back to his bedroom to retrieve the items he had once vehemently tossed aside. Those sensory blockers were to be his training gears for the next six months.

Yes, Naruto would get stronger, even without chakra or Kyuubi. Or Wu.

Never mind that it was Wu who had so conveniently left the Kinesthetics manual on the table and bookmarked a certain page with a feather large enough with which to poke out an eye.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Naruto decided to keep his training gears on from day one, like the manual instructed, even when sleeping. He would deal with his kinesthesia first and tackle Qi later. Qi ... he shuddered at the thought of having to revisit this after his mistake at the waterfall that netted his current plight, unable to access his own chakra or Kyuubi.

At first this new training was difficult. He would bump into things ... well, walls mainly, as the cabin was pretty bare to begin with. In addition to keep his sensory blockers on, he was also instructed to refrain from touching anything, so as not to depend on touch.

By the end of the day, however, he was able to maneuver around as normally as if he had been able to see, smell, hear, and touch.

And just when he thought he had gained mastery over it, someone came in and had everything rearranged by next morning.

Of course, without his sight, Naruto had to learn about this the hard way -bumping into things again, tripping over the table and landing flat on his nose many times.

The stove, table, bed, ... _everything_ ... even walls. How that was even possible was beyond his understanding. He suspected it was Wu, but had no way of knowing.

He then realized that he hadn't really mastered anything. It was just him subconsciously counting his steps and using his memory to compensate for the "loss" of his predominate senses, for he had actually remembered where everything was instead of making any advancement in developing his kinesthesia.

This training was going to be harder than Naruto had first realized.

…o.0.O.0.o…

It was now the third month during Naruto's stay in Mt. WuDang, and he really missed everyone back in Konoha: Yuugao-sensei, Anko-sensei, Team 7, Hinata, and most of all, his family. Often he reflected on how his life would have been had Asuma not adopted him as son. Sure, he would still have the Old Man and Iruka-sensei, and the father and daughter at the Ichiraku's watching over him. And, of course, there would be the friends from the Academy. But having a Dad, a Jiji, and a little nephew - albeit an adopted one - topped all that. He wouldn't know what to do if something were to happen to them.

Today, he woke up like he did every morning and immediately noticed his missing training gears. Fortunately it was night; otherwise, his eyes would be wincing after their long disuse.

_'Night?! Isn't it morning?'_ He then remembered from the Academy that the natural circadian rhythm was 24.2 hours, and without the ability to perceive day from night the past three months, his body clock didn't reset daily with the rising sun. So three months later, those .2 hours added up.

And of course, the world was upside down, or at least that was what his eyes were telling him. Another side-effect from months of sight disuse.

He closed his eyes and lay back into his bed. _Why was he allowed to see again?_ And for that matter, hear, and smell ... and presumably touch?

He had already made great strides in kinesthetics. Not only that, him living alone by himself all this time had taught him a great deal of self-control and self-analysis. In short, he was no longer the compulsive spunky little gaki that Konoha had come to known, and in some, loved. Not to say he became a loner, or worse, a brooder. He was merely more focused and matured. One thing didn't change though. He was still a prankster at heart.

After his brain had relearned how to interpret the raw upside-down images sent by his eyes, Naruto stood up from his bed and walked out of the bedroom to the dojo table.

And, as he had hoped, there was a different book on it this time. This one was called, "Qi Mastery." He picked it up and opened to the first page that read:

"Qi exists in all things living and nonliving, moving and unmoving...."

Naruto skimmed through the description of Qi, since he had already been taught that from the manual Nine Yangs of Qi. His quandary wasn't what but how to access Qi. He searched the rest of the book, hoping to find a different method than what Asuma had shown him. One that would hopefully work on a jinchuuriki.

And then he smiled when he found it.

A smaller but still obvious bookmark, another feather.

He carefully removed it and began reading:

"Qi Training for The Two-Souled. Most people empty their minds and learn to access Qi with their consciousness, or physiologically speaking, with their cerebrum. If emptying your mind out completely is not doable, such as when you have a Second Soul interfacing with your consciousness, you'll have to learn to access and control Qi with another part of your brain, namely the cerebellum, which must first be strengthened through...."

Naruto smirked. That was what he had been doing for the past three months - strengthening his cerebellum.

Naruto continued to read on with greater eagerness. Eventually he would find out what training he must go through. And just like he had with kinesthetics, he would stumble through it at first, but eventually he would master Qi and make it work with kinesthetics.

He was stubborn, if nothing else.

…o.0.O.0.o…

A month after starting Qi training, and finally tapping into what was already within him, Naruto found himself waking up in the middle of some open space, a stony courtyard of some sort. Beyond the distance, he could see the floating clouds meeting where the courtyard left off.

"What da f--?" he started to ask, sitting up, only to find his vocal cord forcefully closed by that despicable Pressure Point Technique. _'Dammit! Why him of all people?'_

"Do all ninjas use as much foul language as you?" asked a familiar voice behind Naruto. "I was sure Little Flying Monkey knew better than to allow this from his adopted son."

Naruto furrowed his eyebrows. 'Of course Dad wouldn't! It was Anko-sensei's fault.' The teenager was frustrated that he could only voice the rebuttal to himself.

"Are you ready to kowtow yet?" asked the voice again while putting a blindfold on Naruto.

Naruto stood up carefully, slowly adjusting to his temporary handicap, and faced the WuDang Headmaster. He shook his head.

"So be it," Wu said as he turned his back on the boy and walked away towards the temple.

This time, Naruto sensed him!

_'Hell, no! He's not leaving me by myself again!'_

Naruto chased after Wu's fleeting presence with all his might. Yet, somehow, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't catch up to the much faster WuDang Headmaster.

Just when he felt Wu's presence escaping beyond what his Qi kinesthesia was able to sense, he felt a new disturbance in the Qi around him and dodged to the left, avoiding a sword hack that generated some sparks as it hit the ground.

_'Perhaps this was a test,'_ Naruto reasoned, keeping his blindfold on this whole time. _'No matter! I'll show him how far I've come. Then he'll have to waive that kowtow rule and take me as his student.'_

Truth be told, no one had never really seen Naruto fought to his full potential. In Academy, his fights were just good enough to win number 1 or number 2 spot, maintaining that spirit of rivalry with Sasuke; and he knew full well that Sasuke was alway holding back from showing anything he had learned from ROOT. When he fought Kisame, he was just recoverying from the waterfall incident, plus he didn't have access to his chakra and had to rely only on kenjutsu.

This day was similiar to his fight with Kisame ... still no chakra, no jutsus, and no Kyuubi. But this day would be different. This day, his optimal health, his controlled emotions, and the newly acquired Qi kinesthetics would play their roles in the fight. Hopefully those would be enough against an apprentice of one of the most prestigious KungFu School ever.

Naruto heard a voice, one that was much younger than Wu's, that told him, "Here. Grab."

The blindfolded Naruto sensed an elongated object tossed toward him. He snatched it out of air with his left hand; his right quickly grabbed the hilt and drew it out of its sheath, generating a ringing metallic hiss.

The sword felt like his sword, Yuutou. No, actually Naruto was certain this was Yuutou.

Not given any more time to reflect on this, he felt the attacker - this time he could sense his height, age, a few years older, aura, and the level of Qi cultivation - charging at him.

They traded attacks, one after another, without anyone scoring any significant hits. The sounds of metals clashing echoed in cacophony.

It was easy for Naruto to tell that the WuDang youth was holding back, and slowing easing Naruto into the sword fight.

Naruto dodged a sword slicing across his upper quadrant, only to fall victim to vicious jab on his ribs from a sword sheath, which came off of the attacker's spinning momentum. The young man's executions were flawless, and Naruto doubted he would have fared any better had he been blindfold-less.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you've dishonored your family by your disrespect," said his attacker, who then started weaving his sword around, channeling Qi into his sword.

Naruto felt what was happening as he, too, prepared himself by channeling Qi thoughout his body. Even though he was still quite new to channeling Qi of his own, he wasn't a complete novice.

Before reading the Qi Mastery manuscript and practicing the Qi training exercises last month, even before setting foot on WuDang, Naruto had already unconsciously awakened his Qi reserves while foolishly rushing towards his captured teammates from the hospital. The hardest barrier was already broken then. All that was left for him to do was to learn how to delegate Qi usage to his cerebellum, thus doing so autonomically, without any conscious processes.

Because the Sandaime had him practiced learning jutsus and chakra and seal theories from merely reading scrolls and manuscripts since he begun his ninja training, the past month was more than enough time to learn to channel effectively what Qi he had.

Unfortunately, the gap was so wide that even he could sense that his Qi cultivation wasn't as high as the WuDang apprentice before him.

Sword lessons with Yuugao-sensei flashed through his mind. He flashed Yuutou into the air and performed the opening moves of the Sakura Blossom Sword Dance, glistening rays of light onto the young man's face.

"What do you mean 'dishonor my family'?" asked Naruto as he capitalized on that momentary distraction and charged at his opponent. "And I didn't disrespect anyone!"

Naruto's words seemed to anger the WuDang youth even more.

"I was told you were ignorant of the WuXia Code of Honor," the young man replied, "however, attempting to attack Master Wu, your superior, should be a form of disrespect even in the shinobi world, no? And you not knowing that ... what does that say about the competency of those who raised you?"

Naruto of old would have easily allowed such verbal jabbing to get to him, but this was no longer the reckless Knucklehead ninja four months ago. This neo Naruto remained calm and collected.

He had almost reached the WuDang youth when he felt an intense energy the shape of an blade flying toward him. He knew this must be Qi, the same invisible energy that he was somehow able to generate when he fought off Kisame, though this one before him was much less potent than the one the Spirit Masters used.

He, too, channeled Qi into his sword and swung it downward, generating a Qi blade of his own.

The two energy forces met in collision, fusing them together into an expanding invisible sphere of energy that only those who had Qi kinesthetics could detect. Once the sphere reached Naruto's height, it collapsed into itself, amassing greater density while shrinking in footprint until finally it was too small to be detectable.

Then, in a flash, it exploded, unleashing all its energies at once.

The resulting gust of wind knocked Naruto off the ground, flying backwards. The blond pulled his head toward his chest to protect it from potential injuries when landing.

The WuDang youth fared much better, since the explosion had not taken him by surprise. He chased after the flying blond, dragging his sword on the ground, generating sparks for his next sword move.

Naruto, though still blindfolded, could "feel" the sparks, his opponent's approach and intent, and knew that nothing could be done to slow him down. And unfortunately any defense he could muster whilst airborne was going to be counterproductive, especially against someone of his caliber.

The blond arched backwards and stabbed Yuutou into the ground as his body catapoled upside-down over the sword hilt. As he landed upright, he pulled out his sword, flicking small pieces of rocks toward his attacker.

The WuDang youth smoothly sidestepped the flying debris as he launched a sword stance of his own creation: Dragon Sparks Heavenly Welcome. Like most names of KungFu techniques, the more melodiously poetic they sounded, the deadlier they were. And this one was about as deadly as they came.

Sparks, guided by Qi, flew off his sword tip toward the blond airborne shinobi. He wasn't sure if Naruto could deflect his proud creation, so he had only put half of his power into it. True, he was told that he was to go all out against this boy, but it was still too early in the day to kill someone.

Naruto found out first hand that WuDang KungFu was no joke, but he wasn't a quitter.

His only hope was to come up with a better offense than the one that would be used against him.

He only wished that he had access to his chakra again, and along with it, the ability to use his vast array of jutsus that he had learned from his adoptive family's coveted library. Then, he could show this boy his true skills.

But without the ability to mold chakra, he was reduced to nothing more than a sword-wielding samurai. It was his compulsiveness at the waterfall and Wu's meddling in business that wasn't his that caused his current dilemma.

'Kyuubi....'

No ... he didn't need to think about her at the moment, especially with the memories of his fight with Kisame still fresh - how Kyuubi had tried to help and only made things worse.

And while his cerebrum - his conscious awareness - was preoccupied with these thoughts, hence no longer over thinking his every move, the cerebellum took over his body, reacting autonomically to the antagonistic stimuli around him.

Naruto's Qi kinesthesia sensed the approaching sparks followed his lateral movement as if they were sentient. He knew then that running away would be futile. Not that he was going to anyway.

He combined two of the Nine Sword Stances, the Sword-Conquering and Missile-Conquering Stances, to instantaneously deflect the flying sparks and find weakness in the WuDang youth's sword art. The Sword-Conquering Stance was designed to defeat any and all attacks made with long slicing weapons such as swords and katanas. The Missile-Conquering Stance was to defeat attacks made by arrows and other throwing weapons, and in this case, flying sparks.

Right now, Naruto's sword tip was launching toward a fatal pressure point in the unguarded left side of the young WuDang apprentice.

The WuDang sword wielder immediately recognized his exposed left side and halted his offensive stabs. Because he had already put too much weight into his offense, he tripped on himself trying to dodge Naruto's sword. Before he could stand, he felt the coldness of steel against his neck.

Naruto took off his blindfold to look at his opponent. The attacker before him was only a year or two older than Naruto and dressed in the same Taoist robe as Wu.

He also noticed that they were now standing in front of the temple doors. He must have covered a greater ground chasing Wu than he realized.

"My name is Naruto. Your Master is supposed to train me. Would you take me to him?"

"Is he not also your Master?" the boy asked.

"No."

"Then what made you think he'll train you if I take you to him?" replied the boy.

Naruto sighed and withdrew Yuutou from the boy's neck. As he inserted it back into its sheath, he thought, 'Dammit! I guess there's no getting around this kowtow thing.'

Just then, a much older boy, perhaps in his late teens, walked into Naruto's extended field of Qi detection from behind. He could tell the skill level of this one was much higher than the boy. In fact, he didn't think it was possible for one's Qi cultivation to be this high, much less a boy not much older than he.

Since Naruto didn't sense any fighting aura, he let go of his grip on the sword.

"It's commendable you're already able to detect me coming," the newcomer said, "but you still need to work on extending the reach of your Qi kinesthetics. Were I a real enemy, you would have been dead by now."

Naruto knew it to be true. He bowed sincerely and said, "Thank you for the advice. Is Wu ...?"

The newcomer, who looked like an older version of the fourteen-year-old, walked past Naruto without stopping to acknowledge the blond shinobi. He stopped in front of the boy and said, "Chen, your overconfidence was your downfall."

"Yes, Seventh Apprentice Brother," said Chen as he bowed his head in shame.

"Don't worry," said the Seventh with a smile as he fondly rubbed the boy's jet-black hair. "You'll get better. Now, go to the inner courtyard for your lesson."

The boy ran off with a smile.

Once he was gone, Seven explained, "Honor your elders. That's the WuXia way. Master Wu, though you refused to become his apprentice, is still your senior, and you shall address him with the honor he's due."

"Honor is earned," rebutted Naruto. "Because of him, I can't use chakra, can't talk to my ... my first sensei, and haven't learned any new techniques. So he didn't earn it from me."

"You ingrate," rebuked Seven. "And I suppose it would have been better for you to die at the waterfall in your own compulsiveness, while the rest of your village was leveled by the Nine-Tails, right? And I guess you've learned nothing these four months and were able to dodge those attack because you're such an awesome ninja to begin with, right?"

Naruto bowed his head in shame.

When he lifted up his head, he saw Seven taking out a cloth with a metal plate attached. It was Naruto's hitai-ite. Seven, with a flick of a wrist, sent the hitai-ite flying towards its owner. It struck Naruto in the forehead and tied itself securely around his head.

_'I gotta learn how to do that! It would be so cool to do that to Konohamaru.'_

Seven turned away, and as he walked toward the temple doors, he said, "Follow the path to my right, they'll lead you down to someone who'll take you home."

He was about to walk through the red tall temple doors when he heard the young shinobi spoke.

"Please," Naruto begged the WuDang apprentice to stop, "tell Master Wu, 'Thank you,' and, 'I'm sorry.'"

Seven turned his head and smiled. As he was closing the temple doors behind him, he whispered loud enough for Naruto to hear, "Don't mention it, Fish Cakes."

Naruto's eyes widened. _'Fish Cakes!? That was a disguise? Of course it had to be him! No one that young could possibly have so high of a Qi cultivation.'_ He wanted to say more, but_ what_? He could only watch the doors close on the visage of the man he both hated and learned to respect.

Naruto kneeled in front of the temple doors and solemnly untied his Konoha hitai-ite. He then prostrated himself in front of the door three times, as it was customary for a student before a teacher. Finally, he stood up and put on his forehead protector again.

"Good-bye, Master Wu," Naruto whispered before turning towards the exiting path, not knowing when or if he would ever see the WuDang Headmaster again.

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **My thanks to KyLewin for betaing.

autonomically - this word is used twice in this chapter. I know that _automatically_ would probably work as well, but _autonomically _is a better choice. It conveys better what I'm aiming for; plus, it's neurologically correct.

Kinesthesia is real and is as I've described. Qi kinesthetics, on the other hand, is completely fictional ... and completely mine.


	14. Turmoil in Konoha

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 14: Turmoil in Konoha**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

_"Let's go to that remoted training ground we discovered when we were kids."_

_"Why? That's too far away, and no one will find us if we get too exhausted like we usually get."_

_"Hmph! You're just a scary cat."_

_"Cat? Yuck! I'm an Inuzuka, and I'm no scary cat!"_

…o.0.O.0.o…

The training ground had been decimated. The brothers had been trading blows for an hour now, taijutsu only. The brown-haired one seemed to be slightly stronger in his punches, but the jet-black-haired boy seemed to be faster and more skilled.

"Gatsuuga!"

Two funnels of destruction furrowed through the air toward the darker-haired boy. He smirked as he closed and reopened his eyes, activating his trademark red iris with two tomoe marks in them.

In the literal blink of an eye, the funnels tore through the boy whose eyes widened in shock.

"Heh heh," said the boy with two red marks on his face, "told you to take us seriously ... huh?"

His words betrayed his confusion. What appeared to be an easy knockout of his adoptive brother turned out to be a clever demonstration of well-timed kawarimi. A shattered replacement log now stood in Sasuke's place.

"Akamaru," Kiba said to his canine companion, "keep your eyes open."

No sooner had he uttered those words, he felt two hands grabbing his legs, pulling him into the ground.

"What!?" shouted the Inuzuka heir as he struggled to free the rest of his body from the head hunter jutsu. "Let me out!"

Turning his head towards a familiar whimpering, he found Akamaru in the same predicament.

"Hey Bro, what gives?" yelled Kiba, anger evident in his voice. "The moment you got me, you've won. You don't have to do that to Akamaru." Looking around, not seeing his adopted brother of four years, he panicked. "Sasuke!"

"You are not fit to be a ninja," came a voice behind Kiba. He tried to turn his head the best he could toward the direction of the voice, but being stuck in the ground severely limited his movement.

Kiba hoped that his adopted brother hadn't finally lost it completely. He and the rest of the Inuzukas had seen the steady decline in Sasuke's mental health since the death of his dog Chame over four months ago. They had offered him another nin dog in its place, but the boy declined. Sasuke's emotions were even more unstable after a mission to the waves, a C-ranked turned A-ranked.

Kiba chuckled cautiously, again hoping for the best, and said, "This isn't funny. Wait until I tell Mom on you."

Sasuke's voice continued as if he hadn't heard the last comment, "Danzou was right. Your ideologies make you weak. You can't even protect your tool properly."

"What the hell are you talking about? What ideologies? What did that old traitor say to you?"

Not getting any response from Sasuke, Kiba continued to shout, "And, Akamaru is NOT a tool! He's my friend. Look, I know you're still hurt after losing Chame...."

"Shut up! You don't know how I feel!" fumed Sasuke as he walked into Kiba's view. His Sharingan stared into Kiba's brown eyes.

The latter tried to look away, but couldn't. He was hypnotically captivated by the spinning tomoes, not to mention he was scared as hell by his Sasuke's actions and cynical remarks.

Then, suddenly, he saw blood dripping out of those red irises as another tomoe mark appeared.

"What's happening to your eyes?" Kiba asked. Despite all of Sasuke's insanity, he still cared for his adopted brother. "They're bleeding."

"They are?" cried Sasuke elatedly. He then laughed hysterically and said, "Finally, I have a fully matured Sharingan. Now, I just need to finish this last step, and the power of Mangekyou will be mine!"

Those words finally convinced Kiba that he was no longer dealing with the same boy his family adopted four years ago. This was a soul broken beyond mending.

"Great! I'm happy for you, bro!" Kiba said, sounding elated and trying his best to be agreeable to this maniac. "Let us out so we can help too."

He was doing the best he could to apply the lessons Kurenei-sensei had taught on the best way for a ninja as a hostage to talk to hostile enemies. At this point Kiba was afraid for his and Akamaru's lives.

"Help me? Hahaha," mocked the raven-haired boy. "Help ME? Ha! Don't worry. You _will_. By staying exactly where you are."

As he walked closer to Kiba's head, he pulled out a kunai from his weapons pouch and crouched down to grimace into Kiba's face, reveling in his fear. Akamaru's nervous whimpers seemed to make Sasuke's eyes gleam even more.

Kiba gulped and began to sweat. He knew there was no hiding his distrust and caution anymore. The talking game was over.

"I'll make this easy for you, for old time's sake," Sasuke cunningly said as he dangled that kunai in front of Kiba's eyes. "I'll let you decide who goes first. You, or the pup."

"Why, Sasuke? Why?" whimpered Kiba.

**- Flashback -**

**(Four years ago, Sasuke 8, few days after he was dual-adopted by Tsume and Danzou)**

"As one of my agents has already explained to you, this adoption is a front for training you in the secret arts of ROOT."

"I understand, Danzou-sama." Sasuke was already told that it was _Danzou-sama _in private and _Danzou_ in public. "I was promised power to kill my brother and avenge my family."

"Um. You _will _become powerful under my tutelage," replied Danzou with his ever stoic face, "but I'm afraid that Sarutobi may undermine my efforts to help you."

"The Sandaime? Why would he do such a thing? Itachi is a criminal deserving nothing but death. Perhaps I should have an audience with him and ..."

"No," Danzou pacified the rest of those thoughts and changed tactics. "What I meant was, he was too weak to prevent Tsume from adopting you. Her soft ways will be your undoing."

Sasuke scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, waiting for Danzou to continue.

Danzou stated, "Ever since Sarutobi became the Sandaime, Konoha became weak. Instead of beating back our enemies, removing those threats to peace, he hid behind the veil of treaties and compromises and the facade of international trade and prosperity.

"Our ninjas became weak. Instead of training to their maximum capacity to do missions by themselves, they were taught the fallacy of teamwork, sometimes placing team safety above the success of the mission. It became worse after the Yondaime, who carried the same ideology as the Sandaime. In contrast, ROOT agents mostly work solo, and if a team is needed, they make any sacrifice necessary to complete their mission."

"But," Sasuke argued, "Tsume-san said teamwork and finding someone precious to protect are what make one strong."

"Heh heh. Foolishness. Ninjas are tools, and like all tools, are designed to perform without emotions. You'll see in time."

**(Four months ago, Sasuke 12, a few days after finding the maimed body of Chame)**

"DANZOU!" Sasuke shouted, entering ROOT's the underground entrance.

Two ROOT agents appeared next to Sasuke with kunais pointing at the boy's fatal points. "Silence, you maggot! You will show respect to Danzou-sama," one of them said.

Using speed none of them thought possible and had never seen from him, the twelve-year-old stole the kunais out of their hands and stabbed both of them in the shoulders.

Sasuke was aiming for their heart and would have been on target had they not reacted fast enough. Determined not to be surprised again, the two masked ROOTs reached for their katanas and....

"Stop! Let him in."

"Danzou-sama just saved you from a good butt-kicking," the other ROOT agent whispered, with his hand still on the katana. "Get in there. And, remember: any more disrespect from you, we'll end you."

"Hn!" Sasuke, paying them no mind, pushed his way through them and entered the room at the end of the pathway.

"Sasuke-kun, something wrong?"

Not bothering to address the man with bandage wrapped around his body, the boy said with clinched teeth, "Did you have anything to do with what happened to my dog?"

"What could possibly happen to him? Didn't you leave him with the Inuzukas like you always do when you visit?" replied the warhawk.

"I ... No ..." replied Sasuke, shaking his head dejected. "He went missing a few days ago, and today I found his remains." Soon his anger blazed again, and he seethed, "So, did you or didn't you? Don't lie to me, or...."

He didn't get to finish his sentence when Danzou suddenly closed the distance between them with agility not seemingly possible for someone walking with a cane. "Or _what_?"

Sasuke flinched when the man suddenly appeared a few breaths in front of his face, but he didn't back down. He didn't even blink. Chame was his only true friend. His family. As he looked at the ROOT leader, he finished his sentence by saying, "Or I'll kill you."

Danzou punched him in the gut, sending him flying into the wall across the room. "You may be the strongest in your age group. You may even be as good as your brother when he was your age. But, emotions have made you weak and foolish, just like I've warned you from the beginning. Now, leave before I kill you."

Sasuke struggled to get up from the ground and made his way out. He paused when he heard Danzou said, "Use your brain, gaki. If I wanted your dog dead, would I have waited until after you became attached to it?"

Sasuke started to move, only to pause again as Danzou said, "Go! Once you severed yourself from your emotions, come back and finish your training."

**(Two months ago, Sasuke almost 13, the Wave Country mission)**

During the final battle with Zabuza and Haku on the bridge, Kakashi fought the Demon Mist, Sasuke battled with the fake hunter-nin, and Anko and Sakura guarded their drunkard client Tazuna.

At first the two males of Team 7 were holding their own against their opponents, with Sasuke having a slight edge against Haku; however, that changed when Haku activated his Kekkei Genkei, ice manipulation, and raised a dome of mirrors encasing the Uchiha.

"No! Sasuke-kun!" shouted the concerned pink-haired Genin as she and her apprenticeship sensei heard several series of painful groans. Even though the mist was blocking their view, Sakura knew whose voice she was hearing.

Sakura had definitely come a long way these few months under Anko's torture ... er, tutelage. But, since Naruto, the other Rookie-of-the-Year, was not there to "compete" for her affections and the fact that they had performed many D-ranked missions together, her feelings for her crush had deepened. Perhaps not love, though it felt that way at times, but certainly closer to love than to the school girl crush they had started as.

"Stay with me, Pinky," ordered Anko, placing her hand on the Genin's shoulder. "He'll be okay. Believe me. Sasuke started some serious training when he was eight. Training no one else knew about. Trust me." She gently gave Sakura's shoulder a squeeze.

However, underneath all her calmness, Anko was frustrated that she had allowed the showboat Uchiha to talk her into letting him fight Haku alone. Even worse was why all of the sudden, she had decided to follow operation protocol, namely to have another Jounin guard the client when two or more were available.

Fifteen minutes of one-sided intense grunting that climaxed in an agonizing shout and then silence had even the level-headed Special Jounin worried.

"Okay, Pinky, I'm going in to check on Emo-gaki. Stay with the client."

Sakura feared the worst as her knees buckled under the weight of her emotional distress. She buried her face into her hands and let the tears flow freely.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Tazuna said, startling Sakura who hastily wiped away her tears. "All you need to do is stay with me, right?"

Seeing a nod, the bridge builder continued, "If you want, I'll go with you so you can go see the boy too."

"Thank you!" said Sakura as she quickly jumped to her feet and grabbed Tazuna's hand, dragging him with her as she ran into the mist.

In the midst of her emotional turmoil, the normally intelligent Sakura forgot two facts: One, Zabuza the originator of the Mist Jutsu could sense her and Tazuna's movement in the mist; and two, Zabuza was hired to kill Tazuna, not Konoha nins.

Thus, when she finally sensed Zabuza closing in for the kill, she did the only thing she knew to save the bridge builder. She jumped in front of the attack.

...

A dejected Team 7 entered the gates of Konoha. Even the normally smirking Anko put on a long face and walked with slumped shoulders. She hadn't said a word on their trip home. Sasuke had been broodier than usual, and Kakashi had gone through three Icha-Icha's.

"Sasuke-kun!" shouted a platinum-blonde running towards the gate to greet her crush. "How was your first C-rank mission?"

Ino was the last person anyone on the team wanted to see.

Oblivious to their sullen faces, the girl continued as her "Sasuke-kun" ignored her - no alarms there - and walked pass her, "I bet it was really cool! Huh? Where's Forehead?"

No response.

"Huh? Sasuke-kun?" Ino asked again, running after them. Another silence worried her. She looked at the team leader and asked, "Kakashi-sensei?"

Anko walked next to her and replied solemnly, "She died protecting the client."

"Killed?" Ino brought a hand over her mouth. "No."

She stood rooted to the spot for only Kami knew how long.

...

The funeral service for Haruno Sakura was a quiet affair. The Hokage had granted her an honorable funeral worthy of a brave ninja died in line of duty. She was young; thus, very few in the village knew her.

Those that did, showed up, including all those who had graduated the Academy with her, even those who had become civilians after failing to pass their Jounin-senseis' Genin test.

Her Genin peers and their senseis lamented the loss of someone who had just embarked on a journey of service to her village. Someone whose Will of Fire had burnt brightly. They too were reminded the sobering truth that life was short as ninjas and that it could very well be their time to meet their Maker tomorrow.

Hokage performed the funeral proceedings, and as part of his service talk, he announced that the bridge in the Waves was named "Sakura Crossings" in honor of her sacrifice.

The only person noticeably missing was Sasuke.

...

"Danzou-sama, I'm ready to finish my training."

"I see. Sasuke-kun, do you pledge your allegiance to ROOT and willingly submit to our Death Seal of Secrecy?"

"Hai!"

"Then, let's begin."

**- End Flashback -**

"What? Can't make up your mind? You _are_ weak. But your death will make me powerful."

Two short cries of desperation and two separate sounds of kunai penetrating flesh and skull were heard, followed by the cackle of menacing laughter.

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Konoha: In Another Secluded Area)

A silver-haired speck-wearing med-nin performed a set of hand seals to link up with his master at a remote location.

It had been four months since he made his last report, which included the great energy release at a location somewhat outside the village. He didn't have much information at the time to report, but he felt the incident was something of interest to his master, even if it was at a great risk to himself and his cover eluding the ANBUs that swarmed around the village.

What his master wanted to know was the cause of that energy outburst, was it linked to Kyuubi, and how was it pacified.

Now, after a few months of research, he hoped this report would be more useful to his master.

_At the remote location, a visage of the med-nin appeared before a man wearing an orange mask and a black cloak with red clouds._

_"Kabuto-kun, report!" he commanded._

_"Hai, Madara-sama. You were right about it having something to do with Naruto," Kabuto began. "Sarutobi has been very secretive about what really happened that day. He's made no written record of the incident. Apparently, only those who were there that day knows the exact details. Unfortunately going after those people right now would blow my covers."_

_"So," Madara sneered, "you came just for a visit?"_

_"Um, no, my lord," Kabuto quickly replied, "I was able to gather that around that time there was a visiting foreign dignitary that was seen roaming freely around the village and in and out of the hospital."_

_"Hospital?" Madara's interest perked. "That's your backyard. Surely you were able to find something more useful."_

_"You're correct, my lord. It was through the patient records that I was able to confirm that it was indeed Naruto-kun that caused the energy spike."_

_"_HE_ caused it?" Madara touched his chin. "You sure it was him and not the Nine-Tails?"_

_"His patient record shows a severe physical exhaustion and nearly depleted of chakra." Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "He was unconscious for three days. In fact, the report from the rounds made the morning he woke up states he couldn't even mold chakra."_

_"Still, that doesn't mean it wasn't Kyuubi though," Madara whispered more or less to himself. Turning his attention back to the good little tool he'd raised, he asked, "Was there anything else to report?"_

_"There's something Orochimaru's planning with Danzou. Apparently, the old warhawk has agreed to holding off his ROOT agents in the upcoming Suna-Oto invasion if Orochimaru would use his research to fix his damaged arm and eye."_

_"Um," Madara mumbled, having something else on his mind. "What about Sasuke-kun?"_

_"As you've predicted, the boy was all downhills after I took care of his dog."_

_"Execellent!" It was good to know one of his projects going as planned. "Now, back to Naruto...."_

_"Madara-sama," Kabuto interrupted, "I'm afraid I'll be interrupted soon. Someone set off my traps, but before I go, just one last thing about Naruto-kun. He went on a training trip with that mysterious foreign dignitary ....."_

Kabuto was unable to finish his report and had to end the jutsu or risk blowing his cover. He knew he would have to answer to Madara for leaving him an incomplete report, but it couldn't be helped.

He opened his eyes to the greetings of Ibiki and two other ANBU interrogators. He adjusted his glasses and smoothly asked, "Who are you and why are you intruding?"

"I am Morino Ibiki," the said man answered. "I would like you to come with me and my companions for a visit to the ANBU headquarters. We have some questions concerning your whereabouts four months ago."

"Four months ago? I don't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning, and you expect me to remember some random day four months ago?"

"Heh heh," Ibiki did his version of a laugh, humored by his naivete, "don't worry, we can help you remember."

"What if I say no?" Kabuto asked while adjusting his specks.

"I think it's best you do, unless you got something to hide."

Kabuto not wanting to blow his cover, one as a spy for Orochimaru and ultimately a spy for Madara, finally said, "Very well. Lead the way. But I must warn you, I'm a med-nin with ties in the hospital. It's in your best interest not to mistreat me."

"Don't worry. I know about your ties. If you have nothing to hide, I won't keep you."

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Mt. WuDang)

"Good-bye, Master Wu," Naruto whispered before turning towards the exiting path, not knowing when or if he would ever see the WuDang Headmaster again.

Naruto wasn't sure how long the descent from Mt. WuDang was going to take, but judging from temperamental wind and the ice patches along the narrow roadside, it would be a LONG and troublesome journey down.

Although the journey would no doubt present itself interesting, filled with more of WuDang's breathtaking scenery and amazing daredevil displays by the avion creatures, all in themselves quite fulfilling to Naruto, the boy was more intrigued by _whom_ Wu had arranged to wait for him at the foot of the mountain.

Thus, with mixed feelings, he commenced his journey on the path exiting Mt. WuDang. As his feet treaded carefully on the narrow icy path, leaning his body against the rock wall on the right while tiptoeing to avoid falling to his death, he tried to keep his mind elsewhere to prevent acrophobia from developing.

He had been away from Konoha for four months now, and he didn't think he'd accomplished a whole lot. Sure, he'd learned how to channel the limited amount of Qi he had into his sword attacks and how to use kinesthetics in combat, both of which he had seen prove of their usefulness.

The battle with Chen, for one. Had it not been for those training, he would have been easily defeated. Although he'd won, he knew that victory wasn't a fair assessment of his skills. Of course, he'd fought and won fair and square, but he _knew_ Chen was holding back and easing him into it, much like how Kyuubi had done when she trained him in his mindscape. Had that actually been Chen fighting to his full as if fighting a real fight with an enemy, Naruto had no delusions of who the victor would have been.

_'Kyuubi ...' _It had been a while since he thought of contacting her._ 'Maybe I'll try contacting her again before the day's over.'_

While he was grateful to what Master Wu had "taught" him, all in all, he felt these four months had been somewhat of a waste. He didn't feel like he'd learned anything lethal or worthwhile to add to his repertoire as a combat-nin. He hadn't learned any killer sword stances from Wu, or have him correct or improve any of the ones he already learned from Yuugao-sensei. And, all because of that kowtow tradition.

_'Master Wu ....'_

Naruto didn't believe he would ever be able to decipher him. Even though there was much of Master Wu Naruto didn't understand, one thing he was certain: He did not tell him to travel this lengthy journey for naught. If Naruto had learned anything about Wu, he was certain that this was some sort of training.

'_What kind of training, though?'_

He wasn't sure, but whatever it was, he was planning on making the most of it.

_'Perhaps I'm supposed to learn new things on this trip. Maybe he hid KungFu manuscripts along the road for me to find.'_

As useful as Qi and kinesthetics were, they didn't suit his personality or his fighting style. He favored the explosive, high impact jutsus. Granted, his jutsus were not subtle or stealthy, but they were highly effective and allowed him to better flaunt ... er, demonstrate ... why he would become the best Hokage ever.

However, he'd never gotten the chance to do so. Shortly after Team 7 was formed, he had lost access to his chakra, and a few days later, been assigned to this "training mission." Sasuke, on the other hand, would have had plenty of opportunities to showcase what he had been learning from ROOT and the Inuzukas, no doubt justifying being labeled the "Pride and Joy" by the villagers and Council alike.

The Chuunin Exam. Yes, he would prove to them there that he had not ridden Jiji's coattail to tie in Rookie of the Year with their precious Uchiha. His lot in Konoha had improved drastically since Asuma adopted him, or at least that was how it appeared, but Naruto knew deep down many still viewed him as the Nine-Tailed Fox herself. The accident during his fight with Kisame wasn't going to help his cause either.

As he thought about home, he couldn't help but wonder how the rest of his friends were. He was certain they had gotten stronger.

_'I can't wait to fight them.'_

That brought a smile to his face.

And, of course, he hadn't forgotten Jiji's promise to tell him who his biological parents were once he made Chuunin.

_'Konoha....'_

He couldn't wait to get home.

Naruto continued his musing as he traveled the path descending WuDang, oblivious to the fact that he had just past through one of the layers of thick clouds hiding the said named school.

…o.0.O.0.o…

The first day turned out to be very taxing for the blond, who was currently resting in a cave, lying on his back next to a fire and gazing out at the stars in the clear night sky. The cave was above several cloud layers, so Naruto was enjoying this view better than the view he used to get on top of the Hokage Monument back home.

Being exhausted was still such a foreign feeling to him since he had never had to deal with this when he had access to Kyuubi's immense amount of chakra and its healing power.

He had found none of the manuscripts he'd hoped for. No traps set up to test or to sharpen his skills and awareness of his surroundings - at this rate he would probably end up too complacent for Anko-sensei's taste. And nearly nothing out of the ordinary. True, he did scale a good portion - though he'd barely scratched the surface - of the narrow and treacherous path, but he had expected the journey would be hard. No surprise there. The only thing remotely interesting was his successful hunt of a mountain goat which would provide him food for days.

The goat must have been a rare breed, able to live off the scanty wild berries and enduring the harsh elements accompanying such a high altitude. Naruto had been wondering about food, and spotting the animal was a godsend. He remembered crouching in wait, watching the animal feasting on wild plants as he got ready a kunai from his pouch. The goat never stood a chance.

Actually, if his thoughts hadn't turned towards the goat and how it was surviving in such an unforgiving environment, he would have missed how _he_ too was faring quite well in the harsh elements. He suspected that it had something to do with Qi's presence inside his body.

That reminded him the daily Qi exercises he had to do.

Naruto reluctantly willed himself to sit up from his relaxed position and positioned his worn out legs into a sitting lotus, hands resting on his knees.

Meditation, and how to do so correctly, was something else he had gotten out of that Qi Mastery manuscript.

Unlike what Asuma had told him, namely to empty his mind of everything, the Qi Mastery manuscript told him to accept everything and refuse nothing. A very contradicting approach indeed, but one that suited his two-souled predicament as a Jinchuuriki, a soul with another sealed within.

Besides, he needed to visit Kyuubi again. He hoped that this dual-nature meditation would yield a better result of reaching Kyuubi than his previous attempt.

Closing his eyes, he allowed his mind to settle and soon felt the surreal sensation of being disconnected from his surroundings. Once the transition completed, his eyes opened to the familiar sewer that his mindscape depicted.

Naruto's mindscape remained exactly as he remembered it during his brief visit after learning in the hospital about Kyuubi's Qi-suppressed state.

No pulsing chakra glow. No eerie trace of demonic killer intent. And of course, no taunting words that Naruto had somehow grown to miss.

He sloshed through the knee-high water towards the only light source. Reaching it, he took time to examine more carefully the effect of the drastic approach Wu had used to save his life and the lives of everyone else around. While he had accepted its necessity and no longer hated the Taoist Headmaster for severing Kyuubi from him, he still regretted the fact that he'd had no choice in the matter, much like everything else in his life.

"Kyuubi," he gingerly said standing outside the cage while his eyes stole glances at the intriguing pattern of the Ying and Yang symbol draped over the cage.

"... if you can hear me," he continued, unsure how she would respond after everything that had happened to her, especially when he knew how wounded her pride would be after being bested by yet another human.

Although intellectually he knew she had a bigger role in landing herself in this mess, like a child still finding his way in the world, his fragile self-esteem still caused him to fear that ultimately everything wrong was somehow his fault.

No, Naruto didn't forget that it was Kyuubi's fault for goading him to losing control - something he still didn't understand the reasons for - and, had he not let go his grudge against Wu, he doubted he would worry about Kyuubi's feelings.

"Kyuubi, I know you can hear me," Naruto tried again. He wanted to say "Thank you" for trying to help when Kisame endangered his life, letting bygones be bygones, but he knew she would deny trying to save him, probably citing that she was doing what she could to protect _herself_ when her pathetic excuse of a vessel had failed to do so.

He received no vocal response, which was not surprising, considering the Qi suppression. But, why was there no muted chakra flairs either, something he knew she was capable of from her failed attempts?

Her silence was disheartening and frustrating at the same time. Here, he was trying to put the past behind them, only to have his efforts spat on and thrown back to his face.

Finally his frustration overcame all other emotions, giving way to anger. He shouted, "Fine! Be that way!" Doing an abrupt 180, he walked away from the cage.

He stopped when his prankster mind kicked in and a stain-eating expression spread across his face.

Schooling his feature to hold off his mischievous grin until later, he turned to cast an all-too-innocent glance at the cage while saying, "You must've gotten used to getting bitch slapped by humans that you don't know what to say when you aren't. Do you want me to give you the usual before you respond, Kyu-chan?"

Naruto unleashed his smirk when that variation from Anko-sensei's typical training/torture insults got the desired effect.

The Ying and Yang drapery-looking suppressor pulsed as the cage underneath it shook violently for thirty minutes, rocking everything in the mindscape. Despite all of Kyuubi's might, the drape remained unyielding. In the end, the commotion pacified, and the dreadful silence returned.

But, at least Naruto had gotten a response from her. He knew that once he got his foot in, it wouldn't be long before they patched things up, which Naruto had been looking forward to, since he couldn't stand how this awkwardness between them had been eating at him.

Picking himself up from the wet ground, he stood and took one last look at the cage before he severed the transcendental connection and returned to the real world. Although he knew he wanted to ponder more about the Qi suppressor, he was too damn tired from the battle with Chen and the grueling physical exertion of the first day to think about it or anything else.

Sleep quickly claimed him. Outside the cave, an icy blizzard hailed mercilessly.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Day Two turned out to be nothing like Day One.

Naruto woke up early as planned, hoping to get an early start, but finding himself starring at the cave opening buried in ice and snow.

"That must have been from last night," he said to himself.

He drew his sword to hack at the ice in fury. His efforts were valiant, but had very little effect on the compressed solid. If only he had access to his chakra, he could have blown the damnable ice away with some explosive tags or a katon or doton jutsu.

"Dammit!" Naruto vented his frustration.

He took a few steps back and retreated into the lotus position, holding his sword horizontally in front of his forehead with his two hands. He slowly sought out the full concentrate of his Qi, feeling its warmth and calm igniting his center radiating a little by little until it enveloped his whole. He then felt and winced in pain as he was hit by the anticipated sudden collapse, condensing the energy back to its origin, and finally shooting forth from there in nine separate streams of intense power randomly tearing through every part of his body, making him quiver uncontrollably in agony.

The pain was worse than the day before when he had channeled Qi before wielding a stream of Qi blades from his sword to meet Chen's. The number of the streams of energy, however, remained the same: nine. Their intensity and power was exponentially greater, and much harder to control. Much much harder.

Beads of sweat poured from Naruto's forehead. The surrounding cold elements made his much hotter body steam.

Naruto wanted to hold on as long as it takes to control the streams and channel Qi properly. He feared the consequences of blasting Qi when it had not been properly channeled. Unfortunately, the intensity continued to climb until Naruto could hold on no longer and had to release the pressure within for fear that he might explode.

Quickly his hands resumed the same samurai hold he'd used when he used this move to counter Chen's. Allowing Qi to erupt in climax and untamed, he flung it forward with his downward sword hack.

KABOOM!

The boulder-like ice that blocked the cave shattered into million droplets of water vapor while Naruto crashed into the wall of rocks behind.

His last thoughts before he fell unconscious were, _'Wu's Qi Manual says there's supposed one stream of energy and a lasting feeling of euphoria. Why was mine painful and why were there nine of them?'_

…o.0.O.0.o…

Day Three found Naruto awaken to its morning greeting. The boy used his hand to shield off the brightness as he gingerly moved his bruised body.

The cave was in shambles. Naruto's uncontrolled release not only obliterated the behemoth ice block that used to barricade the entrance, but also carved nine thick channels into the walls that branched out randomly from center of impact, where the blockage had been. The crushed and crumbled rocks scattered below the nine channels.

Looking around the damage he'd caused, Naruto was surprised that the only injury he sustained was a blotch of bruise on his back where it'd impacted the wall he was thrown into.

Retrieving his sword from the ground, he secured it and walked out of the cave.

The day was still early.

Naruto continued his journey. Only an hour into it, after passing through another layer of clouds, he came to a full stop. He stared in confusion at the sign before him that read "Dead End." It had been staked by the edge of the path he had been traveling, a path that had now come to an abrupt end.

"What the heck!?" shouted Naruto, "Is this some kind of joke?" He stretched his Qi kinesthesia to see if Wu was around. He even sent some Qi to his ears, hoping against hope to hear Wu's snickers and him showing another path after saying it was all a joke. But, in the end, he knew it was no joke. "Great," the blond said with a sigh as he peered over the edge. His vision took him down the steep drop of ice and rocks to a luscious patch of vegetation below, WAY below. He gulped and said, "Now what?"

He spent the next hour retracing his steps, desperately looking for another path he hoped he had missed, only to return to the same spot, leering at the sign, now his limbs much tired than before.

"If only I could use chakra again," grunted Naruto in frustration, "at least I'll be able to stick to the slope climbing down." He hated feeling this way about his current predicament, about Wu, but it couldn't be helped. "If nothing else, with Kyuubi's healing power, I can always let go and test this dumb luck of mine that Asuma always complained about when we played Go."

He was in midst of another depressing thought when he heard a low booming voice in his head.

**Let go. Trust yourself.**

"What?! I'll kill myself," Naruto answered absentmindedly as if he was answering someone standing behind him. Once it dawned on him that he should have been alone or that there could be someone there to rescue him, he looked around frantically as he tightened his grips on the rock crevices and said, "Who's there? If you can hear me, sir, help!"

**Surrender yourself to Qi.**

"What!? I must be hearing things, going mad, talking to myself ...." the thirteen-year-old sputtered as he realized there was not supposed to hear any voice inside his head other than Kyuubi's, and even that bordered the blurry boundary of insanity. THAT deep bellowing voice certainly did not sound like his prisoner.

**Don't fight it.**

"SHUT UP ... you don't exist ... LEAVE ME ALONE!" the blond ranted as he turned to slid his back against the rocky. He now sat on the narrow pathway with his legs dangling in the unfathomably high altitude, an one degree separation from heaven and hell. Literally.

_'Could there be something or someone else inside me besides the Furball?' _He waited for that voice to resonate in his mind again. He wanted, no, _needed_, answers.

But the only thing Naruto heard was the howling of the arctic wind carrying occasional bird cries from a nearby mountain peak.

"Trust myself ... let go ... surrender to Qi," Naruto repeated to himself as if it was a riddle of sorts waiting to be solved.

Then he took out a piece of the goat that he had cooked last night, and after carefully unwrapping its packaging, he took his time chewing each bite appreciatively, savoring its juicy gamey flavors, as if it was his last meal.

Once that was done, he rolled up the wrapping as compact as he could and, watching with great interest, dropped it off the edge of the narrow path into the oblivion below. He watched it bounced off the rocky slope several times until it was too small for him to see and too far for his Qi to detect.

He sat there for a few more minutes and finally reached the only conclusion possible.

"Oh, why the hell not?" mused Naruto to himself, as he put on his best bravado smirk and dived head first into the arms of Kami.

…o.0.O.0.o…

A/N: Naruto is not going to learn to fly. Actually, I'm not sure if he would survive. I guess you'll just have to find out :D

Author's Rant: Does anyone feels like the last couple of manga chapters lacking? I'm frustrated with Kishibakamoto for two reasons:

1. Naruto. What's with that boy? C'mon! Someone almost died for you while professing her love, and after the battle, you didn't even pay her a visit?

2. Sakura. I think I speak for most when I say I didn't like the pre-shippuuden (PS) fangirl Sakura. But after-shippuuden (AS), I thought she was okay. At times, when Kishibaka hinted that she actually has feelings for Naruto, wow, great! But the recent chapter with her shedding tears when asked "What's Sasuke to you?" C'mon! What was that? At best, her feelings for Sasuke PS was an one-sided crush, which wasn't even returned. They didn't even go on a date, and now, three years later, after she's matured somewhat, for Kishibaka to still depict her this way ... is just stupid. It's like he just want to fit Sakura into this stupid fangirl mode. In fact I bet if someone asks Ino in the manga "What's Sasuke to you?" Kishibaka would make her respond the same way. Dumb.


	15. Confirmation

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 15: Confirmation**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

A masked Jounin with spiky, silver hair walked toward the clan compound to check on his student. Sasuke, the only Genin left of his Team 7, had been missing their meeting for the past two days. The first day Kakashi thought it might have been the boy training too hard with Kiba and needing a day of rest. After all, Sasuke told him about that possibility. Granted Kakashi himself hadn't felt the same about Team 7 since Sakura died two months ago, but they had managed to hold to their meetings before.

Sometimes Kakashi pondered what his team could have been were he to have all three of his students as assigned. Perhaps with Naruto, the Number One Surprising Ninja on the team, things might have gone differently in the Waves. Perhaps Sakura wouldn't have died, perhaps there could have been more cohesion in the team, perhaps... nah, who was he fooling? He had Anko on the team for that trip. What could a Genin have done that a Jounin couldn't?

Perhaps, in the end, it was pointless to reflect on what could have been in an alternate universe. Pondering those things wasn't going to help him deal with the present. Right now, he needed to focus his attention on Sasuke until Naruto's return, or until a team restructure.

His musing stopped when he arrived at his destination, the Inuzuka compound. Glancing up from his infamous orange book he was surprised to see that Kurenai was there also.

"Hello, Kurenai. Is Kiba also missing team meetings?" Kakashi asked.

The genjutsu specialist cast her ruby eyes on the mask Jounin and replied, "Oh, it's you Kakashi. For a moment I didn't recognize you without your usual perverted giggles when reading that smut. Something wrong with Sasuke? Is he not showing up either?"

Instead of an answer, Kurenai saw Kakashi resume his reading, complete with a quiet giggle.

"Hm? Kurenai, did you say something?" Kakashi asked as he lifted his eye from the book.

A vein on Kurenai's forehead seemed to popped out as she furrowed her eyebrows and glared at the mask hiding Kakashi's perverted giggles. She was not in the best of moods at the moment. She had been worrying about Kiba for the past two days. Kiba had told her about training with Sasuke, and that had her worried a little. That Uchiha boy had not been himself since losing his dog and worse after losing Sakura. And, frankly, Kurenai worried for Kiba's safety whenever Sasuke was involved. She had already checked the training grounds yesterday and found no signs of them being used.

Had it been a few months ago when her roommate Anko had been more available for girl talk instead of being occupied with her fiance Asuma or being a complete mess herself on days she moped about her dead apprentice, Kurenai would have been less edgy than she was feeling now.

"You've asked for it!"

Kurenai made several hand seals, and the drawings of the two scantily dressed smooching ladies on the page that Kakashi had been staring at came alive. They winked at him, waving their hands to invite him into the book. As he used his free hand to hold back the gushing nose bleed, he started to giggle even more while he saw himself being pulled onto the page and transforming into a cartoon drawing.

As he was about to thank his good fortune and thank Kurenai, he remembered this was her genjutsu and that she cast it in anger. Staring around in the 2-D world as a cartoon caricature, Kakashi tried to look for a way out but was sidetracked by the two ladies that invited him. They had been kissing and now were waving at Kakashi to join them. Once they got their hands on him, the ladies peeled their faces off to reveal two men, one with the likeness of Gai, and the other, Kakashi.

The two Kakashis pointed at each other with dinner plate eyes and screamed.

"Oh goody, my eternal rival has a twin," cheered the Gai drawing. "Let me show you the power of my youth."

The two Kakashi drawings ran, with Gai hot on their trails.

The scream of the real Kakashi was so loud that it could be heard in Suna. He dropped his book and started to beat his head as if trying to knock what he was "seeing" out while pleading, "Urgh! Lady Kurenai, please make it stop."

At that moment the clan door opened, and out stepped a frantic mother who came running when she heard someone shouting the name "Kurenai."

Tsume greeted them out of formality and quickly asked, "Are Kiba and Sasuke with you?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

"Hokage-sama!" cried Tsume as she barged through the doors, ignoring the attending Chuunin receptionist. "I want to hire an A-rank mission to find my son."

"Tsume-san, please calm down." Hiruzen said to the frantic mother. "Perhaps you're over ..."

He stopped himself from finishing the sentence, but he had already said too much.

"OVER_reacting_, you say?" Tsume wanted to scream and was doing her best not to.

_'Oh how I wish I could forget the memories of my late wife doing that.' _Taking a puff on his pipe, the Sandaime softened his wrinkled face, letting his age show as he sighed. He knew from experience that nothing he said next was going to help, but he had to try. "I'm sorry, Tsume. That's not what I meant."

"HOkage-SAma," again trying her best to show her place as she addressed her Commander-in-Chief, "perhaps you're misunderstanding my request. I'm willing to pay the A-rank fees for what would normally be a D-rank mission to whomever that find him safe and sound, and I don't care if they find him hiding under the kitchen cabinet of my own house. Neither Kurenai nor I have seen Kiba or Akamaru in two days."

"Two days?" repeated Hiruzen. _'Now, that's disconcerting.'_ He offered, "Have you asked Sasuke for his whereabouts? I've seen those boys often together training."

"I don't trust that boy. Since he came back from the Waves, he didn't feel right to me or the kennel anymore. Two days ago, I strictly told him 'No' when he asked if he and Kiba could train together. And apparently he took Kiba anyway because their senseis just told me that the boys went away training," said Tsume, nearly breaking down in tears as she finished her sentence. "I haven't seen either of them since."

_'Danzou, what are you up to?'_ Hiruzen pulled out a glass globe from his drawer and said, "Don't worry, I'm sure he'll turn up soon. First, let's have a look-see in my crystal ball. Perhaps we'll be able to find Kiba and Akamaru this way."

Tsume quickly wiped off her tears and walked closer to the globe.

The globe pulsed several times and then projected complete darkness. A bead of sweat formed on Hiruzen's forehead as he thought of the possible implications - none of which good and none of which he looked forward to explaining. He repeated his hand seals and recast the jutsu again, desperately hoping he had made a mistake the first time. The crystal ball glowed again, this time longer, but the result was the same. Total blackness.

Seeing the blackness the second time, Tsume leaned into the globe, peering into it, hoping to see her son's face again, but came out with nothing. Thinking perhaps it was showing an image that only the Hokage could see, she looked to the man, tilted her head, and asked, "Well, where is he?"

"Er, heh, it must not be working for some reason," replied Hiruzen, emitting some stress hormones due to his nervousness, which he was almost positive Tsume would be able to pick up. _'Damn! Why does she have to be an Inuzuka?'_

"What does the blackness mean?" Tsume asked again, this time the suspicion clearly visible on her face. "Is there something you're not telling me, Hokage-sama?"

Clearing his throat, the Sandaime calmly replied, "It could be many things" - _none good _- "and the only way to be sure is to find them alive" - _or dead_. He did not want to worry her further with bad news that he needed time to confirm. Approving her request would give him what he needed - time. "So, I'm going to approve this mission."

"Really?" she exclaimed. Hearing that the Hokage had just approved her mission request calmed her down somewhat, though something about that blackness continued to bother her. She put the disturbing thoughts away when she saw Sarutobi opening the master mission log.

"I'll be assigning Yamanaka Inoichi, Morino Ibiki, Hatake Kakashi, and Mitarashi Anko to this mission. They'll start as soon as they are gathered and debriefed. If that's all, you're dismissed."

"Wait," Tsume interjected, "don't get me wrong, Hokage-sama, they are all good ninjas, but shouldn't you send a team specialized in search and rescue for this mission?"

"Tsume-san, while I can understand your worries for Kiba and Akamaru and was tolerant of your behavior earlier, please do not question my judgment."

Seeing Tsume lowering her head in shame, the Sandaime continued in a much softer tone, "If _you _and the Inuzukas search parties you've no doubt sent looking already before coming me failed to find them, I doubt sending a team of such specialty would do any good. As for why these four, I have my reasons. I promise that you'll hear something by the end of the day. Right now, I suggest you leave me to my work if you want me to make good on my promise."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama."

Tsume bowed and left the office, feeling somewhat better, but still uneasy about that disturbing image of blackness out of her mind. The only solace was the Hokage's promise to have news for her before the day's end.

Few minutes after the Inuzuka Clan Head left, four ninjas assembled in front of the Hokage waiting for their orders.

"Hokage-sama, you've called?" asked the silver-haired smut reader.

"Kakashi, secure the room first."

Putting his Icha Icha back into his pouch, he walked to the door, activated the privacy jutsu, and returned to his spot.

"I've assembled you for an A-rank search and rescue mission."

Anko licked her lips mirthfully and asked, "Where to?" She had been itching to get out of the village since their return from the Waves.

"Actually, it'll be in the village ..." Hiruzen began to explain.

"Isn't that normally a D-rank mission assigned to Genins?" interrupted Kakashi.

Ibiki chimed in with his own objection, "Hokage-sama, could you send someone else instead? I'm in the middle of a very important interrogation."

"I hope it won't take too long," added Inoichi. "Ino's been bugging me to train her since Sakura died, and I've promised to teach her some advanced mind walking techniques before the Chuunin Exam."

Sarutobi deadpanned. First Tsume; now these clowns. _'I wonder if Naruto-kun would still want this job once he finds out how little respect you get as the Hokage.'_

After projecting a strong guttural noise as he cleared his throat, the aged leader cast each of them a glance, letting them know he was slightly annoyed for being interrupted, and continued, "As I was saying, this mission will be in the village. Officially, I'm sending you to search for Kiba and Akamaru."

"Er, isn't ...," interjected Kakashi, who got silenced by a glance from his leader. After a few seconds under his glaze, he smiled sheepishly under his mask and said, "Sorry. Please continue."

"Kiba and Akamaru have been missing for two days. I tried to locate them with my crystal ball, but I only got blackness concerning them, which means they are either being held in some very dark place or they are dead. Most likely the latter."

That got a gasp from Inoichi. While Kiba hadn't been close with Ino, Tsume was a close and loyal friend to the family. He asked, "Does Tsume know?"

The wizened leader shook his head while saying, "She's the one who commissioned an A-rank grading for this search mission; however, she doesn't know what I just revealed to you."

"So, Hokage-sama, what's the real purpose of this mission?" asked the ever-observant Ibiki.

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes and replied, "Under the cover of this search mission, you are to capture Sasuke alive for interrogation, but under these restrictions: People can think of him missing or dead, but not captured. And, no one alive must know of your involvement."

"Sorry, Hokage-sama," Kakashi began, slightly nervous after what had happened to his last attempt to say something. "Isn't this a little excessive? He's after all my student, and I don't think he's capable of what you're implying."

"What are you talking about Copy-Cat? You don't really think that ... " Anko allowed her voice to trail as she glanced at the solemn faces of Ibiki and Inoichi. Then it dawned on her. She looked at the Sandaime and asked, "You don't really think that ...?"

"Yes, Anko," Hiruzen replied, "I suspect his involvement in what happened to Kiba and Akamaru. The questions are how involved was he and was he under any orders."

"You mean from Danzou?" asked Kakashi.

Hiruzen sighed and nodded. "It was my mistake for not dealing with him sooner."

Inoichi asked, "And what are we supposed to do with him or his minions if we encounter them?"

"Danzou might be a tough one to handle, even for you four. He did compete with me for this office after all, so try not to engage him directly. But as for his foot-soldiers, do whatever it is necessary to complete your mission," Hiruzen authoritatively stated. "Remember no one _alive_ must know of your involvement. Understood?"

"Hai," the team replied.

"Very well. Dismissed."

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Akatsuki hideout)

Madara paced back and forth in his hideout thinking about what Kabuto had said, his normal patience and the goofy Tobi persona gone. There were a lot of questions on his mind. Having received an incomplete report from Kabuto only added to kept replaying Kabuto's words in his mind.

___"Naruto-kun went on a training trip with some foreign dignitary ....."_

Who was this foreign dignitary? Was it who Madara thought it was? If so, why? Why would someone from WuXia be interested in the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki?

_"It was through the patient records that I was able to confirm that it was indeed Naruto-kun that caused the energy spike."_

There must have been a mistake. That energy spike _had_ to be from Kyuubi.

_"His patient record shows a severe physical exhaustion and nearly depleted of chakra. He was unconscious for three days. In fact, the report from the rounds made the morning he woke up states he couldn't even mold chakra."_

If it had been a mistake, then why would Naruto be unconscious for three days and ended up not being able to mold chakra? And, what happened to his chakra? to Kyuubi?

Dammit! What exactly happened at that waterfall?

Just then, a overgrown weed erupted from the ground and out of its flower revealed a two-shaded man. It seemed as though the light and dark vertical split was more than mere face paint. The two shades represented two personas, as if he/it was a merge of separate halves of two alter egos.

Madara turned his orange-masked face toward the new arrival and said, "Zetsu, were you able to find that Kyuubi brat?"

"No, it's like he disappeared four months ago," answered the dark side of Zetsu.

"His chakra signature is gone. He didn't die, did he?" the light side added.

"Not possible," refuted Madara. His plan would be seriously jeopardized if that was the case. "Anyway, there's a change of plans."

Zetsu's two halves spoke simultaneously, "Oh?" - dark. "So, soon?" - light.

"Apparently our _favorite_ missing Akatsuki is arranging for a showdown with Sarutobi," explained Madara with sarcasm heavily laced in his voice. "Let's see wait and see what happens."

"Ah, I see," the dark side said, followed with a menacing chuckle.

The light side pensively said, "What should we tell Pein?"

"Hm ... tell him we need to gather the other bijuus first," Madara said as he waved his hand dismissively. He really didn't care what Zetsu told that god-complex zealot. "Tell him we need time to find the other Jinchuurikis first."

"Very well," the plant variant's two sides said in unison before melting into the ground.

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Mt. WuDang)

"Trust myself ... let go ... surrender to Qi," Naruto repeated to himself as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.

Then he took out a piece of the goat that he had cooked last night, and after carefully unwrapping its packaging, he took his time chewing each bite appreciatively, savoring its juicy, gamey flavors, as if it was his last meal.

Once that was done, he rolled up the wrapping as compact as he could and, watching with great interest, dropped it off the edge of the narrow path into the oblivion below. He watched it bounced off the rocky slope several times until it was too small for him to see and too far for his Qi to detect.

He sat there for a few more minutes and finally reached the only conclusion possible.

"Oh, why the hell not?" mused Naruto to himself, as he put on his best bravado smirk and dived head first into the arms of Kami.

Once his feet left the cliff, he closed his eyes and allowed himself to be completely enveloped in the rushing bone-chilling air. It was then that he heard the voice again.

**Trust yourself.**

_'Who are you?'_

**I am the personified spirit remnant of the past guardians.**

_'Huh?'_

**Each succession of guardianship for either manuscript _Nine Lonesome Sword Stances _or _Nine Yangs of Qi_ infused a part of their Qi into the manuscript. In your case, as a candidate for the guardianship of both, I am the conglomerate of all the life forces of the past guardians of both manuscripts.**

_'Um, okay. I'm not sure I understand all that. All I got was you are made up of bunch of dead old guys.'_

**Er ... yeah, all you need to know is that I am your guide.**

_'Got it. So, why did you want me to jump? and what do you mean by trust myself? I mean how am I NOT trusting myself.'_

**You mean you didn't understand and you jumped?**

_'Yeah, heh heh, that's how I get things done sometimes. Besides, this is not the first time where I'm forced to make a decision without understanding much of what's going on. Actually, most of the decisions in my life were already made for me.'_

**You're talking about Kyuubi.**

_'Well, everything concerning her has been decided for me. She was sealed in me from birth, so I had no choice. Not that I could have made one as a baby if they did. Then, because of her, my parents died, so I had no choice to be put in an orphanage. My childhood wasn't that great; much of the villagers hated me, again, all because of things that were already decided for me. And then, Master Wu sealed her away, along with my chakra, and again, I had no say.'_

**What if I tell you that you can simply choose to not go along with those decisions? choose to do nothing, starting now?**

_'Yeah right ... and Kyuubi would run loose, Madara would use her to destroy Konoha, and he'll use the power from the manuscripts to dominate the world ... like I could let that happen! Don't you understand?__ I'm forced to protect everyone from Kyuubi, from Madara, from the evils that will come in the worst way if those manuscripts fall into wrong hands. I'm FORCED to do this. What choice do I have?'_

**Wrong, Naruto. You always have a choice. You can either DO or NOT DO. No one can "force" you to do anything because in the end _you_'ve made the choice to either cower under the pressure or to rise above it. Man feels "forced" when it's a decision he doesn't agree with or believe in. He may also doubt his own ability to carry it out. Viewing your life as one act of reluctant choice after another, the way you're looking at it now, is where you failed to trust yourself.**

_'I think I understand__. _So, what do you think I should do to trust myself?'

**By believing in your choices.**

_'What does that mean? I mean, what am I supposed to do with the decisions that were already made for me, like having Kyuubi sealed in me?'_

**Back to her again? Fine, I'll give you a choice right now: Do you want the seal removed from you? Just so you won't feel _forced_ into keeping Kyuubi to protect everyone, I'll seal her into someone else so she will not be let lose. And, you won't die.**

_'But then ... wait, you can remove the seal?'_

**Yes, it's within my power.**

_'Who are you going to seal her into?'_

**Does it matter? Let that be someone else's problem. I promise it won't be anyone you know at the present. So, now that you have a say on the matter, what will be your _unforced_ choice?**

_'But how will I know what's going to happen to that person? to Kyuubi? And what if things turn out for the worst?'_

**You can't, and that's the point. If you choose to let someone else take care of the problem, you choose to give up the right to shape its outcome as well.**

_'Then ... urgh! ... I ... I choose to have Kyuubi sealed in me.'_

**Are you sure that's _your_ choice? and not something I'm _forcing _you to do?**

_'I ... Yes. It's my choice. I don't think ... in the end, I don't think I can put this burden on anyone else or trust the person to bare it well. Also, I want to be the one to be responsible for its outcome.'_

**Good. That's what it means to trust yourself.**

_'So, what now?'_

**It's time to choose your future.**

_'My future?'_

**Your future as Guardian of the Two Nines. In the same way that your Hokage is chosen, he or she can choose to accept or decline the position. I've chosen you as the next Guardian, but nothing is confirmed until you choose to accept. **

_'What will happen if I say no? Would I die from this jump?' _

**No, nothing bad will happen to you, and you will not die. In fact, I'll even remove the Qi suppression on Kyuubi, and you can go back to being the shinobi you were.**

_'Really?'_

**That's right. All you have to do is surrender the two manuscripts so they can be given to the next guardian that shows up ten thousand moons from now.**

_'What? No way! Madara will find them the moment I take them out, and who knows what will happen to the manuscripts before the next guardian shows up.'_

**That may or may not happen, but it'll no longer be your concern. Remember, the moment you choose to let someone else take care of the problem, you choose to give up the right to shape its outcome.**

_'Urgh! Fine, what will happen if I say yes?'_

**You'll have to suffer pains greater than anyone else and battle enemies far more powerful than you, but if you succeed, you'll be granted abilities to do extraordinary things.**

_'You mean like bringing peace to the world?'_

**If that's what you want. I however have no say on the matter.**

_'But I thought all guardians of the past were good guys?'_

**Most were, but some chose to wield their power to serve their selfish interests.**

_'Then, I guess I've made my decision. I choose ... '_

**Very glad to hear that Naruto. ****It seems like I've made the right choice after all.** Your appointment has been confirmed. You may open your eyes now. Have a soft landing!

"What? Wait ... I'm not done with you yet! I didn't even _state _my decision yet. And just how am I supposed to survive _this_?"

Naruto was shouting and screaming. Unfortunately, most of it got scrambled by the freezing air rushing into his mouth. And, the voice didn't answer.

Naruto opened his eyes and found that his body hasn't really fallen much at all, if any, from the time he closed his eyes. He could still see the end of the narrow pathway from which he'd jumped. It seemed as if time stood still when he was conversing with the Spirit of the Old Masters.

He realized, however, that in the real world, his fall would pick up speed fast. And it did.

He started to panic, so he closed his eyes again, trying to connect with that voice to get some answers. Anything that would help.

Having no success, the thirteen-year-old reluctant skydiver reopened his eyes, realizing he was going to have to do this on his own.

_'I was the one who chose to jump, so why should I expect someone else to help me?'_ thought Naruto as he analyzed his situation.

He could feel the air pressure rushing through his hair, combing it backward. He could feel the freezing wind gust tunneling through all the openings on his clothing, already quite fragile from the amateur patch jobs he had done to extend their use through the growth his body had undergone these past four months.

__

___'I am the Guardian of the Two Nines now.'_

Most of the patches on his clothing were already torn off, leaving his already compromised clothing unable to withstand the air rush.

_'I can't rely on others to bail me out anymore.'_

His shirt was shredded and torn off, leaving his chiseled body exposed to the freezing elements, but he didn't feel cold. His skin didn't feel any wind burn. His Qi was shielding him.

_'I can't use chakra. Kyuubi is basically nonexistent. Wait! Why am I still hung up on chakra and Kyuubi? I've got Qi now.'_

The only pieces of clothing on his body were what remained of his boxers and pants. His fallen speed continued to increase, approaching terminal velocity.

_'But I can't use Qi well. That accident back there in the caves left me knocked out cold for a day. What if ...? No, I'm doubting myself again.' _

Terminal velocity.

Naruto went through the last cloud layer and could see objects on the ground now and was somewhat glad that they still looked like little specks of dust; however, he knew such relief would be short lived.

_'Trust myself. Surrender to Qi. Remember, you're the Guardian now, knucklehead, and guardians don't have problems channelling Qi.'_

Drawing Yuutou from the sheath securely fastened to his back, his two hands laboriously pushed it through the ungodly pressure in front of him. It soon sliced apart the air resistance, creating a serene air sac behind it, enveloping him. Inside the air sac, Naruto began to channel Qi and felt the painful explosions inside him when Qi expanded, imploded, and divided into nine wild energy streams. As if he was meant to do this, he started chanting what he remembered from reading the Nine Yangs of Qi manuscript.

Surprisingly, the Nine Yangs manuscript did not contain some secret Kung Fu moves or some deadly art or palm strikes. It contained mostly of prayer chants and mantras written by a monk of long ago after he had reached the Nirvana stage of Enlightenment. The chants were mainly Zen principles of simple truths he'd observed in nature and the breathing patterns of himself in the state of Nirvana.

Simply put, the Nine Yangs of Qi was a much-coveted book on prayer and breathing. In some mystical way, however, those simple principles when applied to Kung Fu could make any novice into an expert.

Chants such as "A tender sprout bows to the wind, while a stiff branch bends and snaps" didn't seem to be of any use in Kung Fu, especially when most foolishly believed that strength and speed reined supreme. But, using that simple principle, the Founder of WuDang invented Tai Chi, a form of Kung Fu that did not counter opponent's attacks head on or deflect it elsewhere. Instead, Tai Chi practitioners were taught to redirect the opponent's power against him or herself. Many times the power returned to their opponents two or three times stronger. Thus, in this way, a seventy-pound second-rate Tai Chi apprentice could defeat a hundred-fifty-pound world-class Goken master.

The main application of the chants in Nine Yangs, however, was to harness the nine positive energy streams, or the yangs, of Qi. Having already read and studied the manuscript a few years ago was the reason that there were nine streams of energy whenever Naruto channeled Qi.

This time around, instead of trying to control, or tame, those energy streams - as he had in the cave - he surrendered himself to their seemingly random movements, allowing his own body to accommodate and adjust to their motion.

"URGH!" Naruto screamed in agony, swallowing a healthy serving of air rushing into his stomach. As was expected when he channeled Qi, the pressure within him and the pain increased exponentially. Finally, he gave out and completely succumb to what come may. With the very last bit of his strength, he held on to his sword for dear life as the ground approached ever faster.

In spite of all this, Naruto continued chanting the Nine Yangs in his mind. And, surprisingly, his pains started to lessen. He gradually felt the soothing and healing sensation as the nine energy streams traveled fluidly throughout his body.

He also noticed a surprising change in his breathing pattern. If he was to hold his breath, it was like he could hold it forever, as if he was beyond the need for breathing. When he inhaled, he noticed that his lungs exchanged oxygen and carbon dioxide instantaneously, without him needing to exhale. It felt as though he could breathe in forever, as if his lungs could never reach their intake limit. The respiration gas exchange was the same when he exhaled. This time, it felt as though he could breathe out forever, as if his lungs could never be deflated.

It felt good. It felt very exhilarating. And, for that brief moment, he forgot all his worries, including his free fall and what the voice told him about the trials he had just signed up for as the Guardian of the Two Nines.

His mirth disappeared once he realized he was seconds from crashing into the ground.

KABOOM!

The rumble and decimation spread all around the point of impact, clearing away vegetation along the path of its ripples. A cloud of dust mushroomed into the air that could be seen for miles. The booming sound could even be heard further than that.

The dust cloud slowly lifted, gradually revealing an enormous crater.

In the center of the crater crouched Naruto, unscathed.

----

**A/N: **Hi, I was able to get this chapter out sooner than before. Yay! I originally planned to end the chapter at KABOOM, but didn't want to be mean and leave you another cliffhanger. Please leave me a review to let me know what you think. As always, my thanks to KyLewin for betaing.


	16. Aftermath and Mystery Person

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 16: Aftermath and Mystery Person  
**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed Narutoverse from Kishimoto and two techniques from Jin Yong. Everything else, including the explanation of how those techniques work, though, is mine.

…o.0.O.0.o…

KABOOM!

The rumble and decimation spread out from the point of impact, clearing away the luscious vegetation along the waves of its ripples. A cloud of dust mushroomed into the air that could be seen for miles. The booming sound could be heard even farther than that.

The dust cloud slowly lifted, gradually revealing an enormous crater. In the center of the crater crouched Naruto, unscathed save a few minor scratches from the flying debris all around him.

Despite looking like he had just escaped from the belly of the Shinigami, he suffered no major injuries. His hair was disheveled, his face covered in a layer of dust, his bare chest red from windburn, and his pants shredded at the legs. If it wasn't for the dust caked on his sweaty face, the painful windburn would be visible there as well.

Naruto's rough appearance was not reflective of the euphoric calm he was savoring at the moment, breathing in and out, feeling the awesomeness of Qi's resourceful exhilaration and basking in the comforting warmth surrounding him.

Naruto took a deep breath, just as he had while flying - or falling, anyway - through the air, only this time he was testing how long he could continue inhaling before reaching a limit.

The air rushed into his lungs while forcing out the toxic carbon dioxide simultaneously. He continued to breathe in for twenty minutes. At that point, even though he felt no real need to exhale, he finally let the breath out. He could probably have breathed in for even longer, but he finally gave in to the nagging ingrained perception that he must breathe out. Though there was no physical need for it, his body's instincts told him that he would pass out if he didn't exhale.

The intoxicating high he was feeling at the moment could not be described. He felt completely peaceful, as if he was blissfully asleep, but at the same time, he felt alert and rejuvenated, as if he was on constant adrenaline rush.

The boy who had once thought chakra and shinobi art was the end-all and be-all of power and strength and of paving his path to become Hokage had just learned that nothing could ever compare to Qi. Nothing. Well, he did miss chakra's the ability to do jutsus, but practicalities aside, Qi _felt_ better. Hands down.

Looking around, Naruto could see he was standing in the center of a crater as wide as the Chuunin Battle Stadium and as deep as the height of the Hokage tower.

The air around him felt heavy, saturated with Qi, much like how it felt when he was fighting Kisame, though not nearly a tenth of the intensity.

Most of the once luscious vegetation had been blown away by the explosive impact, but there remained few tree branches and debris. Naruto saw them floating in air and gradually gliding their way down much like weightless feathers.

Everything seemed so surreal.

_'What's going on? Things moving slowly, or is my mind much faster than my eyes?' _Naruto thought to himself, trying to reconcile the unfathomable scene before him with what he had always excepted as Common Sense.

He reached out to touch one of the floating tree branches to make sure it was real. It _felt _real, solid, just as it should be. But it also felt weightless, which was _not _real. Couldn't be.

Naruto lightly tapped the tree branch playfully and watched it glide into a collision with a smaller floating tree branch and then both gradually drift to the ground.

"Well, this must have something to do with Qi," concluded the still baffled thirteen-year-old as he stood up. "Screw common sense. Nothing makes sense anymore. I shouldn't even have survived this fall."

He returned his sword back to its sheath, which was still miraculously secured to his back.

"Yoohoo! Anyone here?" shouted the discombobulated boy, hoping someone was somewhere nearby waiting for him. "Any-one?"

No answer. Finally coming to terms with the fact that he wasn't going to find answers standing there, he decided to get out of the crater and look for the person Wu said would be here waiting for him.

Taking his first step was when he questioned the reality of things again.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, wobbling to keep his balance as his mind struggled to register that his first step took him further than a mere step normally did. Instead of advancing the mere distance of a normal stride, Naruto now stood five yards away from where he'd been when he took the step.

How did he manage such a huge leap when all he did was take a step? What would have happened if he had been actually going for a leap instead?

Excited by the possibilities, Naruto took one leap, putting about half of his effort into it.

And that was when he realized that he must be either dead or dreaming.

Because there was no way a half-hearted leap could have turned into a GIANT leap out of the massive crater.

Naruto didn't even think he could have done it if he were actually _trying_ to leap out of a crater of _that _size while using chakra.

"Damn!" concluded Naruto. Although he was anticipating something extraordinary, he was not expecting this size of a gap between what he considered reasonable and the surreal phenomenon before him.

Standing at the top looking down, Naruto finally began to comprehend the magnitude of the devastation caused by the impact and the gargantuan size of the crater. The fact that he could have died was a sobering thought, yet he had somehow survived it.

A cry for help from his four o'clock brought him out of his shock.

Naruto turned toward it, but saw nothing. He was just about to dismiss it and return to examine the crater some more when he heard it again.

This time he _knew _it wasn't his imagination.

Stretching out his Qi kinesthetics, he sensed five people a good distance away. There was an old man struggling to limp away on his cane while four men wearing patchy sackcloth robes in the likeness of beggars chased behind him.

Naruto knew right away he had to help.

Never mind that he should be surprised that his Qi kinesthesia had become refined to the point that he could detect those small details and cover an even wider area, or that his hearing had become sharper, capable of hearing the four beggars shouting out profanities of all sorts to get the old man to spare them some change or some dry goods.

Having made a decision to help the crippled old man, Naruto leaped into action. He was wanting to test his new condition and thought the opportunity had just presented itself. Naruto was also glad for the opportunity to assess himself before meeting up with the Wu's arranged mystery person. After all, if the person was going to give him more training like Naruto was hoping, he surely didn't want to jump in not knowing anything about his own limits and capabilities that evidently had gone through drastic changes.

Putting forth his full effort, he dashed toward the cry, bathing in the exhilaration as he ripped into the air.

"Wow! This is awesome!" Naruto shouted like he had just won a lifetime supply of ramen. That was his fifth leap now, and he had managed to cover one mile without breaking a sweat.

Naruto concluded that he was covering more ground in his current condition than he would have had he resorted to pumping chakra into his jumps. It was then that he remembered how a few days ago he had also covered a surprisingly long distance chasing Wu blindfolded in front of the WuDang temple.

_'What brought this about anyway?'_ pondered the blond as he continued rushing toward the direction of the crippled old man. _'Could it have anything to do with that wonderful feeling I felt before crashing into the ground?'_

It must be. It had to be related to the euphoric feeling after Naruto had surrendered to Qi during the skydive.

Soon, much sooner than the pensive boy was expecting, Naruto found himself closing a distance that could easily have been two miles.

"Stop bothering him!" the speeding blond shouted as soon as the beggars were in sight, not realizing that his eyesight was much better than they were without Qi, meaning that the beggars were actually farther than they appeared to Naruto. But his booming voice too seemed to have been enhanced by Qi and was able to cover the longer distance without Naruto knowing the differences.

The beggars were now surrounding the old man, and only one paid the approaching lad or his shouting any mind.

"Go fuc---," the attentive beggar was in the midst of saying before Naruto rendered him unconscious with a blow to the head. He was evidently the youngest, or the least experienced, of the four beggars.

Naruto was expecting the other three to attack him, or at least acknowledge his intrusion, and when neither happened, he stood there dumbfounded at how engrossed they were debating amongst themselves. Since neither party chose to acknowledge his presence, Naruto could only stand there and listen, trying to make heads and tails of things.

As Naruto listened in, he noted their appearance. The old man was leaning his weight on a cane in his right hand. He wore a straw hat covering most of his peppery-gray hair and an outfit typical of a farmer. In front of the old man, the beggar on the left was the shortest but also the plumiest of the three. The man next to him, standing in the middle of the three, was tall and skinny. The one on the right had a body that looked like an average between the other two, but definitely the ugliest.

"Er, Big Brother, are you sure that this wimpy old fart killed your brother?" asked the chubby beggar. He was very uneasy about attacking someone defenseless.

Before the ugly one had a chance to answer, the tall beggar chimed in, "Yeah, I agree. The only way a wimpy old fart could have killed your brother is if your brother was even more of a wimp. Was your brother a fucking son of a turtle?"

"Why you motherf ..." fumed the ugly beggar, pulling in his arm to hit the beggar that had just disrespected his late brother. But before his punch reached its target, Chubby grabbed hold of Ugly's elbow and retarded the blow.

"Ta-ma-de," Chubby said with genuine disapproval in his voice, "you know better than to call your own brother a son of a turtle, Big Brother."

Naruto wasn't sure what "ta-ma-de" meant; it couldn't be anything good coming from their mouth. But he was almost certain that "son of a turtle" roughly meant "gutless bastard."

"Hey, if he calls his own brother a son of a turtle, doesn't that make him a son of a turtle also? And what does that make his mom and dad?" asked Tall while scratching his head pensively.

Both were oblivious to how their remarks were making their leader's eyebrows twitch.

"Ta-ma-de, if that's true," Chubby said as a revelation dawned on him, "then isn't he also calling us sons of turtles because we're with him most of the time and because Master said that 'we are whom we associate with'?"

"Yeah, Big Brother," shouted Tall sounding hurt and upset. "Why are you calling us sons of turtles?"

The ugly one brought his right hand up and buried his face in it. He could not believe the stupidity of those two. Why had he taken these imbeciles with him on this trip?

"Shut the fuck up, you worthless rice buckets!" his volume muffled behind his hand, but his anger wasn't.

Again, another colorful derrogatory, but completely unfamilliar to Naruto. Rice buckets? He reasoned that since rice was their main stable, the term must have meant to mock a person's incompetency, that the only thing the mocked one was good at was eating rice. But then again, Naruto ate a lot of ramen, and he certainly wouldn't mind someone calling him a "ramen bucket."

It was during this pensive moment that the ugly beggar noticed Naruto's presence, which prompted him to point at the boy and wave his hands ostentatiously to get the other two's attention.

"We were so fucking busy arguing that we didn't notice you," the ugly beggar addressed Naruto and warned, "but get the hell out of here while you still can before I kick your ass back into your mother."

"Hohehe, that's too much!" laughed a doubled-over Naruto, who could no longer hold in the laughter he had developed listening to their bantering. The three beggars mistakenly assumed that Naruto was arrogantly laughing at their ability to handle a kid.

"Why you ...!" fumed Ugly through his clutched teeth as he swung his staff at whom he considered to be an indignant youth.

As Naruto continued laughing uncontrollably and doubling over, he involuntarily dodged Ugly's staff swung at where his head had been.

Rotating the staff through the missed swing around behind him to the other side, the lead beggar wielded the swinging weapon toward Naruto again, this time aiming lower at his legs.

This was a difficult combination to defend against or to dodge, especially when Naruto had doubled over to avoid the swing to the head. Naruto's center of gravity thus became quite low, and the momentum of his body already shifting downward wasn't helping. Plus, this combination attack was Ugly's signature swing, perfected through many successful tries.

But, somehow, the hit missed!

In mid swing, as the staff sped closer to Naruto's legs, Naruto kicked up his legs, narrowly escaped the sting of the hit, and rolled on the ground, continuing his laughter. Even though the sequence of Naruto's actions were purely coincidental reactions to his vigorous laughter, Ugly still felt the painful sting of a wounded pride. If anything, Naruto's good fortune only added salt to the wound.

"Get him!" Ugly ordered, already getting more and more livid by the second, especially when he saw Naruto wiping away tears from excessive laughter.

Tall and Chubby thrust their staffs toward the now heaving boy and maneuvered them through a few elaborate complex weaves of offensive combinations.

Unfortunately, Naruto was still too engulfed in the hysteria to notice and was struck in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and the face, sending him flying backwards, landing a few yards away on his back.

Getting the wind knocked out of him certainly ended his laughing spell. The feeling of a lack of air was short lived though, if Naruto had suffered any at all. The boy was still under the nirvanic effect of Qi breathing.

The feeling of being pissed, however, could not have been prevented by the Qi euphoria.

Naruto in one motion jumped to his feet and drew out his sword. A metallic hiss rang crisply in the air. He stood valiantly in front of the old man, facing the beggars.

"Be safe on your travels, old man," said the young sword wielder, who spoke without turning around to properly address his senior. With his eyes still fixed on the miscreants before him, Naruto declared, "I'll delay them."

"You won't be able to hold them off by yourself, but perhaps if we work together, we might stand a chance," offered the old man, sounding slightly worried.

"Don't worry about me, I'm stronger than I look," Naruto reassured him. Actually, not having the old man with a walking impediment there was an even greater help.

"Very well," said the old man, nodding his head at the youngster. Just when he was about to leave, he asked, "Whom may I have the pleasure of thanking?"

"Uzumaki Naruto Sarutobi," was the boy's reply, using his adopted name since he had long since considered it his real name.

Just then, Naruto felt faint blinking of some powerful energy coming behind him.

Before Naruto could ponder any further, he felt a heavy blast of killing intent coming from the three beggars.

"Hey! Don't ignore us!" the beggars yelled as they chased past Naruto, after the departing old man, only for Naruto to appear standing in front of them once more, having moved there with a speed that shouldn't have been possible for someone his age.

"Hn, don't ignore me!" Naruto declared with a hint of battle excitement while holding Yuutou samurai style in front of him.

"Fine, you little fart! And, since you insist, I'll go all out on you," Ugly said with a smirk.

Normally the codes of WuXia would deter most senior martial artists from fighting their juniors, but Ugly felt Naruto's continued outward disrespect deserved an exception, and as the senior martial artist present, he saw it as his duty to administer the needed discipline.

Channeling Qi all around him, the lead beggar thrust out his staff repeating his lethal top-then-bottom combination attack.

Having already activated Qi kinesthesia, Naruto could sense the staff ripping through air particles even before his eyes or ears registered its movement. He could tell that this attack was full of power and killing intent, unlike the last attempt that Naruto had accidentally dodged while laughing. There would be no haphazard dodging this time around.

The ferocity of the swing didn't faze Naruto, who remained calm and collected under the euphoric effect of the continuous active circulating of Qi at ready mode.

Being calm and collected allowed him to realize the whole scope of things, because the swing, while vicious and lethal, was not the main focus of the attack. While Ugly executed his signature move, the two other beggars on either side of him were making a leap over Naruto, chasing after the crippled old man.

Instead of parring the staff away and risk letting the other two pass him, Naruto sheathed his sword and jumped backward. He extended both arms upward toward the two leaping beggars on each side of him, grabbed their ankles and pulled them downward while pushing off them to backflip a kick at the attacking staff, sending a loud thud and a vibrating jerk that nearly caused the leading beggar to drop his weapon.

Now twice as pissed, Ugly grabbed the staff firmly with both hands and raised it overhead. He leaped forward, preparing to smash the troublesome bugger's head into a bloody pulp.

Meanwhile, the other two beggars landed on their feet and were surprised that they had been pulled back by the mud-faced boy. They launched their own sequences of staff attacks, with Tall swinging for Naruto's back and Chubby thrusting toward the stomach.

Naruto unsheathed his sword before finally landing on his feet. Too flat-footed to ward off the three simultaneous attacks, he tightened his core with Qi to bare the brunt of the stomach jab and back whip and made an overhead crisscross sword-and-sheath to block the tomahawk swung.

Tall and Chubby had both landed their attacks; however, instead of hurting Naruto, both beggars felt a strong kickback from the protective Qi actively circulating within Naruto, much like an object bouncing off a balloon filled with air. So, when the two attacks landed on Naruto, they were bounced back with the same amount of power.

The sidekick beggars were forced to release their hold on their weapons, lest they risk injuring their hands. The wooden pieces flew 50 yards away from their hands.

To say that Tall and Chubby were surprised would be an understatement. A kid Naruto's age possessing such a well cultivated Qi? Unheard of! But there he was ... the mud-face boy ... standing as clear as day. But since they were technically violating two WuXia codes - never attack someone your junior and always fight one on one - they didn't feel it was right to use Qi. Had they known any better from the beginning, they might have reconsidered.

Their leader on the other hand cared less about fighting honorably and _had_ channeled Qi into his attack. When his staff smashed onto Naruto's sword-sheath shielding cross, the Qi kickback from Naruto wasn't as violent as the other two's, though it was still quite formidable.

Ugly was able to hold his ground. With their weapons locked into position, and Ugly having height advantage over Naruto, the lead beggar channeled more Qi and brought his weight on Naruto, forcing the boy down into an one-kneed crouch. The pressure was so heavy that even the ground underneath Naruto began to crack.

"Go get that old man, you idiots!" shouted Ugly with uneven breathing as beads of sweat rolled down his banes. Tall and Chubby could tell that their leader was going all out and nearing his limit; while the boy's breathing, on the other hand, was even and calm. In fact, he hadn't even broken sweat yet. However it was still undeniable that Ugly had the upper hand, for the moment anyway.

It became evident that while Naruto might not have that much combat skills or experiences, he clearly had better Qi channeling technique. The beggars' Qi was like a passing powerful thunderstorm, all or nothing and all at once. Naruto's Qi, however, was like a quiet and lasting shower, slow and steady. In terms of strength, the beggars had the advantage in the beginning, but their experiences told them that the boy would gain the upper hand the longer the battle continued.

"You sure, boss?" asked Tall. "I think one of us should stay with you."

"Yeah," reflected Chubby, "I agree."

"Urgh!" Ugly yelled in frustration. "Too late!"

It was during their hesitancy that Naruto broke free from Ugly's hold.

Channeling as much Qi into Yuutou as he could manage, Naruto turned his wrist so that its edge was bearing the brunt of the staff and in one quick slicing motion pulled his sword as fast as he could, generating a sharp burnt wood smell as it sliced through the staff.

"What!" exclaimed the lead beggar trying to register what had just happened.

Naruto used the sheath to swat away what remained of the staff that was still in the lead beggar's hands and, in one swift motion, he stood up and kicked Ugly in the chest, sending Ugly flying toward the other two who had gathered behind their leader.

"Big Brother!" Tall and Chubby both exclaimed before they were knocked off their feet by the body of Ugly slamming against them, sending them flying back as well.

Naruto's feet had already left the ground the moment he had kicked Ugly toward them. He arrived at where their bodies would land while they were still in midair. Not wanting to waste any more precious time on these three, the Qi-enhanced Naruto sped toward the incoming flying bodies and pressed a few demobilizing pressure points on them as their paths crossed. He wasn't as proficient in the Pressure Point Immobilization techniques as was Wu, but he knew enough from his studies of the diagrams in the Nine Lonesome Sword Stances manuscript to immobilize the three beggars, even if it was only for a very brief moment.

_'There's something odd about that old man,' _Naruto suddenly mused to himself.

It was one passing moment, but it somehow still managed to trigger Naruto's memory even now. It happened right before he told the old man that he would help delaying the beggars. Naruto had a sudden flashback of sensing the faint but acute spark of Qi coming from the old man when he waved good-bye. The acute Qi spark was a tell-tale sign of a Qi master. In this case, the level was higher than anyone Naruto had ever come across, even higher than Wu's, and much more masterfully concealed. The slipped up flare was brief, perhaps even intentionally, and it was for this reason Naruto knew he must find the old man again.

"Hey! Let us go!" Chubby yelled on the beggars' behalf.

He and his two companions weren't aware that Naruto might know of the Pressure Point Kung Fu, but he was far from mastering it; and thus without much struggle, the immobilization would wear off in a few minutes. That though would be more than enough time for Naruto to disappear.

Naruto looked at them and smiled weakly. "Sorry guys, but I have to look for the old man, and he's almost out of the range of my detection."

Ignoring the rest of their cries, pleadings, and curses, Naruto chased after the old man full speed.

For a brief moment, Naruto lost himself in the chase. The feeling of acceleration under Qi enhancement was liberating and quite additive.

When he focused more on his pursuit, he realized how much ground he had already covered and how much farther he had to go to catch the old man.

The old man was still a mile away, which would only take seconds for Naruto to reach, but still, Naruto had already covered three miles, and he refused to believe that the little time he bought delaying the beggars would have allowed an ordinary elderly man with a leg impediment to travel that far.

_'I knew there was something off about that old man,' _he mused with a heavy sigh, _'I hope I didn't aid a murderer, if he did kill that lead beggar's brother.'_

And, now that Naruto had closed in on a view of the old cripple, he didn't see anything unusual to explain that mystery. The old man was doing what he had been doing when Naruto first detected him with Qi kinesthetics: inching along slowly on his cane as any normal cripple would do.

_'I guess if he want to continue the act, I'll play along,'_ Naruto sighed. _'Besides, judging by that Qi spark, I doubt me and the three beggars working together could have lasted 30 seconds against this guy.'_

With one last leap, Naruto landed next to the man and asked in as normal and non-suspicious as he could, "Are you all right, old man?"

"Yes, noble kind lad," the old man replied in with a benevolent smile. "Much obliged for your assistance."

"I ..." Naruto wanted to confront the old man, but the his own Qi kinesthesia was telling him that the old man, no matter how powerful or how much he was now concealing that fact, was still no threat to him. Naruto had learned that a master might be able to conceal his Qi level, but there was no concealing one's aura.

The old man's aura was one of soothing calm, with no trace of malice found in him.

"Yes?" the old man asked as he stood there waiting for Naruto to finish.

"Heh heh," Naruto chuckled nervously while rubbing the back of his head. "I was just wondering how you got here so quickly."

"Quick?" the old man asked with a quirked eyebrow. "You caught up didn't you, Fish Cakes?"

Naruto look at the old man in confusion. _'Where have I heard that before?' _Then, when it came to him, he widened his eyes and asked, "Master Wu? But you couldn't be."

Instead of hearing the old man answering affirmatively, Naruto heard another voice coming from a tree branch behind him that said, "Aww, Little Fish Cakes missed me already?"

"Argh!" Naruto jumped as he turned toward Wu's familiar voice. "How did you sneak up on me again?"

"Ha! That's a secret," Wu replied smugly.

Shaking off the mental cobweb from his thoughts, he turned to look at Wu and back at the old man and asked, "If that's Master Wu, then who are you?"

The old man laughed heartily as he removed his facial and clothing disguise, revealing a bald monk with long white beard and long while eyebrows.

"I am Master Wong, the Grand Master Abbot of the Monastery of Ancient Manuscripts."

…o.0.O.0.o…

Beta: KyLewin

**A/N:** Hi, sorry that this is a short chapter. I had it done a week ago and had intended to add a bit more, but my computer crashed. Fortunately I didn't save this chapter on my hard drive, or you'll still be waiting for me to retype it from scratch. But, unfortunately, that meant I had to decide to post this now as is or wait until I add some more to it, and I chose to post now.

Hope you enjoyed this, and I hope to get the next one out in two weeks.

Please make my day: Let me read your review. I need some cheering up from having to reformat my hard drive :(

Thanks.


	17. Homebound

**01Oct2009. **This is a repost. I had to. When I first posted this, it was done upon completion, without really any proofreading on my part since it was 4 AM and I had been up for a LONG time. I'm not saying that this version is error free, but it's better; at least this effort placated my conscience that I had at least proofread :D. No plot changes so you don't have to read it again if you had already done so. Only some minor changes to clear some things up. I'm still not completely satisfy with it, but whatever. It's done. If you have any writing suggestions, I'm open ears. Next chapter will be up in 2 weeks, and I intend to keep this deadline.

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 17: Homebound  
**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N:** Don't skip the italicized. If you do, you'll miss the good part!

…o.0.O.0.o…

(Konohagakure)

The four elites made their way to the last known ROOT hideout since the Sandaime's disbanding of it five years ago.

As soon as they entered the underground tunnel, a permeating moldy stench hit their noses.

Inoichi, Ibiki, Anko, and Kakashi each wore ANBU style masks and carried a fire torch that Kakashi had lit with a simple Katon jutsu.

They took their time looking through cracks and examining crevices outside the entrance before finally opening the door. And even then, they were not in a rush to enter.

Anko took the lead here. Even though Sarutobi had appointed Kakashi as mission captain, everyone on this uncharacteristic search and rescue team acknowledged each one a leader in their own field of specialty.

The ex-protege of the Snake Sannin tip-toed in and out of the doorway, many times retracing her steps. Kakashi had insisted on having Kage Bunshin do the reconnaissance; however, Anko argued that Bunshins, no matter what type, were of no use in detecting high-level traps, something that her traitor sensei had taught her.

She wasn't looking for any explosive tags or other obvious booby traps, which were unlikely since ROOT used to pride itself in teaching its members how to implement highly sophisticated and difficult to detect traps.

A minute later, Anko gestured her teammates that it was safe to shadow her footprints.

What they found inside was consistent with what was expected of an abandoned strategy base of ROOT's secrecy: overhung cobwebs, deranged furniture, and most importantly, nothing hinting where things had been relocated to or who had been its members.

They were hoping against hopes that their search would turn up something, but so far, nothing.

Despite the overwhelming understanding that it was going to be fruitless anyway, searching the last known ROOT base was the least inconspicuous of their plans to find the current ROOT hideout. Soon, they would have to move on to other alternatives. The next would be to capture a ROOT agent and have Inoichi perform a mind interrogation.

The problem with capturing a ROOT agent was finding one to capture. Fortunately, that problem had just been solved.

Suddenly the abandoned hideout became brightly luminated, so much so that the Konoha faithfuls had to blink a few times to let their eyes adjust to the blinding brightness.

Kakashi, out of the quickness of his reflexes, took out a few shurikens and tossed them to where he thought the light source was.

Clang!

Those throwing stars hit something metallic; but more likely, they were deflected.

And, the brightness was still present.

_'This must have been jutsu induced,' _Kakashi reasoned. Currently the team formed a circle, each facing opposite directions with their backs toward each other.

He along with the rest of his team didn't have to wait long for answers.

"Haha! So Danzou-sama was right about them visiting this stink hole," said a concealed male, whose voice seemed to be booming from all directions.

"And four of them, just like he predicted," added another concealed male, using the same voice-booming jutsu.

"Them gathered together like cornered mice. Heh, easy picking," chimed in yet another ROOT agent.

"Remember, no scratches on their bodies," this time a female voice laced with malice.

…o.0.O.0.o…

It had been five hours since Ibiki had left the ANBU Interrogation Cells to see the Hokage.

His last command was to bring Kabuto from the withholding cell to the interrogation cells and prepping him for interrogation.

Without receiving any new instruction, the two guards continued to keep Kabuto in the interrogation room, knowing full well that interrogation rooms were less secure than withholding rooms.

Ibiki had been known for his unusual requests so that he could better prepare the prisoners for mind-breaking interrogation; thus, it was not inconceivable that making Kabuto wait was part of the mental preparation.

Another twenty minutes later, when it became evident to Kabuto that it was time for shift changes, a sinister smile crept up on the medic's face.

…o.0.O.0.o…

Although Inuzuka Tsume was glad she had gotten the Hokage to approve a search and rescue mission for her missing son Kiba, there was something still unsettling about how the whole thing transpired.

It was as if Sarutobi had agreed to the commission as a way to placate her, to qualm her fears.

This was further accentuated by the timing of events - the fact that his approval had come only after twice encountering the unexplainable black void in his all-seeing crystal ball, a tool that had never been known to fail, at least not to Tsume's knowledge, and certainly nothing of the sort had been fabled in the shinobi world.

The female clan head knew the mental detriment thinking like this was causing her. The Hokage _had _promised her that he would get her some kind of answer by the end of the day, so why couldn't she be patient and more at ease while waiting for his reply?

Call it "Mother's Intuition." Call it her "Sixth Sense." Call it whatever. Just don't call it "Overreacting."

She _wasn't _overreacting, and she had made certain that Sarutobi knew that.

After all, how was a mother with a son missing for two days supposed to react? especially having someone as dark and inhumane as Sasuke around?

To be fair, Sasuke wasn't always like this. At one time, she had even considered him a doting son, especially when she had first adopted him into the family, had given him a home, stability, emotional and physical shelter from the Uchiha massacre, and her own biological son and daughter had both welcomed him in with open arms.

_"Mother, may I come in please?" asked Sasuke after knocking outside her bedroom one morning._

_"Sure, is there anything you need?" Tsume called out, wondering if it was one of those mornings in which the boy required. _

_Sasuke walked into her room with a tray of scrambled eggs, two strips of crispy bacon and a glass of orange juice._

_"Mother, thank you for everything."_

That first week after adopting Sasuke had been filled with blissful memories.

Things weren't the same after the Uchiha had to split weeks between spending time here and spending time with Danzou. Sasuke was still courteous, thoughtful, and kind hearted, though the spark of innocence that had once been in his eyes were lost.

It was when Sasuke's dog Chame died that Tsume and the rest of the clan started to noticed the boy's transformation into hatred and darkness. The boy whose eyes had once held so much life and hope had that day become nothing but windows to an empty shell.

Knock! Knock!

Those two very soft and reluctant knocks on the clans door outside the compound's courtyard somehow echoed loud and clear to the inner chambers of Tsume's bedroom.

Was it because it was eleven o'clock, when everyone else in the clan was sound asleep, and sound carried the longest distance when it traveled through silence?

Or, was it because Tsume had been in expectation of Saruboti fulfilling his promise to her that by the end of the day she would hear from him?

It went without saying that the Inuzuka matriarch ran with al her might to the clan door, which she opened so quickly that she almost tore off its henge, and was greeted by a ragged and timid form of the old man Sarutobi.

"Sorry to disturb you at such an hour Tsume-san," the Sandaime said solemnly with a bow.

"Hokage-sama, you've found my son?" Tsume blurted out, oblivious to what should already have been evident had she been paying attention.

Hiruzen shook his head slowly and waited until he saw the excitement evaporate from Tsume's face.

"I'm sorry," she heard him saying as tears involunteerily streamed down her cheeks, "I don't have any good news to deliver. May I be invited in please?"

…o.0.O.0.o…

(8.5 weeks later somewhere between Mt. WuDang and Konoha borders)

"Yoohoo!" Naruto screamed as he performed another incredible jump. Under Master Wong's eight-week tutelage, Naruto's progress had improved leaps and bounds, no pun intended.

Currently, he was trying to improve his landing.

He felt the snapping of yet another tree branch, failing to support his landing. It was only an hour ago he'd entered this vast forest, and already he'd snapped more tree branches than he cared to remember. No matter how he much he improved, he still struggled to control his Qi and perform this Kung Fu maneuver, namely to soften his landing using Qi.

In the end, no shortcut or elite tutelage could replace what essentially amounted to taking the necessary length of time required to master Qi properly. Nevertheless, Naruto's progress was still remarkable by any standard.

The thirteen-year-old's body twisted acrobatically to avoid getting hit by the lower tree branches as he fell.

He even tried several times to land on some of the lower branches while in mid fall, but again, failed to do so without snapping them.

Finally, reaching ground, he pumped power to his legs and launched himself once more through the leafy canopy of the trees, propelling his body way above the tree tops. One of the many web-patterned cracks formed on the ground when he leaped off.

This exercise was one of the steps towards mastering the art of levitation that Master Wong had taught him. The training began with jumping from tree to tree, and upon mastery, leaping off and landing on only the top leaves on the trees.

To hell with landing on the leaves for a moment. After so many failed attempts, Naruto would settle any second now for landing on the branches as even this second preference would make his trip back to Konoha that much faster than launching himself from the ground like he had been doing.

Speeding into the rushing wind, the bluish gray Taoist robe hugged tightly around Naruto's body, cascading with the trailing air stream.

Dressing like Wu's protege had _not _been Naruto's idea of ... well ... not his idea, period. At the time, he really didn't have much of an option, either he put on the garment Wu offered him or endure Wu's teasing while walking around bare chested because the rushing wind after falling from Mt. WuDang had shredded his shirt. He opted for the lesser of the two evils.

His only consolation then was to remedy it upon finding a clothing store. But now, after 8 weeks of getting used to its comfortable fit and its adaptable mobility, he wasn't so adamant about changing it anymore.

His six-month training trip was almost up, and the eager anticipation of returning home and seeing his friends and family made him impatient at his lack of progress, which only made him foul it up even more. Rushing through his jumps without focusing on the mechanics of Qi control had not been helping his progress.

Since parting with Masters Wu and Wong three days ago, each returning to their respective schools, Naruto had been traveling by himself nonstop. Qi made it felt like a walk in the park; however, he knew better than to trust the deceptive ease it gave him, because ultimately he was still made of flesh and blood, needing food and rest.

But more importantly, he remembered what Master Wong said about Qi in the beginning of training:

_"Qi exhaustion is worse than chakra exhaustion because one's fatality is almost certain."_

Such dire consequence proved to be no deterrent for Naruto. He wasn't going to take it easy anytime soon, especially not with the tree jumping exercise. Such was Naruto's character, a "go-all-out" kind of a guy. But he wasn't completely foolhardy. He would stop and rest, eventually ... after he landed on a branch successfully without crumbling it.

He ended up launching his next jump from the ground, adding another cracked launch site to his trail, but he wasn't worried. Master Wu had assured him that someone would cleanup after his trails. Who? He didn't care. If Naruto had learned nothing else on his trip, he had certainly learned that men under the code of WuXia always honored their words.

Apparently Wu was very insistent that this be done, afraid that someone might find out about him or Master Wong having an apprentice. In the back of his mind, _Madara_ came to mind.

He knew he had already come a long way before this training trip. And he certainly was no quitter. So, he would try again, and again, and again. Until he didn't need to any more and could just do it.

Using Qi to enhance his acceleration, Naruto was already traveling at a speed he had never imagined possible, covering roughly a mile a minute. If he could perfect the tree hopping Kung Fu, he could speed up his travels by 50 percent.

As he fell and nearly collided into tree branches from yet another failed attempt, he recalled his first impression of Master Wong, a medium-built bald monk that once disguised as that crippled old man chased by beggars.

The Grand Master Abbot Wong was a man in his winter years, yet possessing within him a most paradoxical spirit of youthful vigor. Naruto remembered being further taken aback by the fiery spark ablazed in those wizened eyes whose sharp vision pierced into his very soul.

Instead of feeling intimidated or threaten, Naruto had felt completely at peace, albeit a bit unnatural, much like how it was when he first met Kyuubi in his sewer of a mindscape. Perhaps this warm feeling had been a result of the Yang influence or the positive side of Qi. For those reasons and more, Naruto had known right away that Wong was the Guardian of the Nine Yangs, the counterpart to Wu, the Guardian of the Nine Stances.

_"So, you're the guy in charge of the storehouse with all the Kung Fu manuscripts, right?" _Naruto remembered asking the abbot.

_"Ha, ha,"_ Naruto could still hear Wong's benevolent chuckles as if he was standing next to him_, "not_ all _the manuscripts. Just the ones most sought after. The first Guardian of the Two Nines established the monastery many centuries ago as a way to bring peace and stop all the WuXia bloodbaths over these coveted Kung Fu manuscripts. Eventually our role evolved into one of storing, safekeeping, and preservation of manuscripts by transcribing them from older frail paper and skins into new ones."_

_"Is that how you became so stong? by learning all those Kung Fu?" inquired Naruto. Though the Qi flare from the disguised Wong that sent Naruto chasing was brief, Naruto still couldn't get over how pure and concentrated the energy was._

_"Ha, ha," Wong chuckled warmly again. "No, actually my apprentices and I don't learn them unless we were given the owners' permission, and even then, we still don't as a rule because not all Kung Fu are compatible or beneficial to the practicer's body. For example, those who practice Yang-based Kung Fu cannot learn anything Yin based. And some Kung Fu are gender oriented. Learning something incompatible or cross gender might end up crippling you with miss-wired nerves and shattered cognitive functions. Those that learn Kung Fu purely for the power they grant are especially susceptible to these risks."_

_Naruto nodded his head and said, "I see."_

That was the first time Wong met Naruto, and he had already sized Naruto up and could tell right away what stuff Naruto was made of, his character and moral fiber, and what kind of man Naruto would become.

The Grand Master Abbot Wong was different than the prankster Wu. Naruto felt safe and connected with Wong, much like when he was around his Jiji. Naruto wasn't sure how much of that feeling was due to Yang's influence, Wong's own approachable character, or his being homesick.

Home, still two long weeks away, hopefully. Ten days, if he could manage to learn the art of levitation. But first, he needed to land on a tree branch without damaging it.

Naruto still remembered the shock on his face after learning that those Qi-using beggars he fended off used to belong to one of the biggest clans in the WuXia world, the Beggars Clan.

_"In our part of the world, everyone who's been taught Kung Fu has also been taught Qi, much like how in your part of the chakra and ninja training are taught together. Plus Qi isn't that hard to learn, though it might take years even decades before mastering it."_

Even though Master Wong had stated that Qi wasn't hard to learn, and perhaps it was for non-shinobis, Naruto knew from experience that such simply wasn't true for everyone.

But that didn't mean Naruto wasn't willing to share. One of the things he had wanted to do when he get back home was to teach everyone how to channel Qi, given the liberating awesomeness of Qi. But several factors stood in hindrance:

First, his fellow ninjas must be willing to forsake chakra and jutsu usage while using Qi, a tall order for most ninjas, except for maybe Rock Lee. Qi, used primarily to enhance one's physical speed and strength, might appear to them as restrictive, comparing to chakra's jutsu versatility, such as elemental manipulation, destructive jutsus, genjutsus, bloodline limits, summoning, and fuinjutsu.

Second, without the ability to access chakra, his fellow ninjas must be willing to settle for close range combat, which might put their lives in more danger than they were used to.

It wasn't always like that - a choosing between Qi or chakra. Naruto remembered how Wong explained the Great Division:

_"In the beginning of time, it was a world of survival, a world of men against beasts. Beasts were always stronger, but where nature compensated their weaker physique with greater intelligence, which led to their mimicking the moves of the animals to form Kung Fu and channeling their emotions such as anger and fear into their Kung Fu. Eventually men discovered Qi and adapted their emotion-channeling skills to Qi._

_"Then along the way, a man now known as the Six Paths Sage made a deal with the gods. They granted him a pair of special eyes. With them, he discovered chakra molding and jutsus. Some fighters were drawn to the jutsus' destructive powers, flashiness, and long range applications like bugs to a nightlight._

_"Unlike Qi which took years for them to master and was limited to Kung Fu applications, chakra allowed them to manipulate elements, destroy an army with a single jutsu, and make deals with demons and summons. They willingly traded the ability to channel Qi for the ability to mold chakra. Those who chose the path of chakra called themselves shinobis._

_"The dedicated Qi users, however, refused to adapt, faulting shinobis for irresponsibly creating devastating jutsus that exponentially increased bloodshed and thirst for power. Most importantly they found chakra's demonic applications disturbing. Their feud climaxed in the Qi masters driving the shinobis to where they continue to live today. Few generations later, your part of the world remembered Qi no more."_

Naruto sighed. Looked like even if he was willing to share what he had learned, his friends and family might not be willing to switch. He wondered how they would feel about his being a Qi-user instead of chakra-user. Would they embrace the new him, or would history repeat itself? Naugh! He was being overly dramatic. They were his family and friends after all.

According to Wong, Naruto should be able to access his chakra again, even as a dual Qi-chakra user.

_"We believe your chakra abilities will return to you when Master Wu's suppression expires. His guess is three years, but that'll depend on how much mastery you have over the Nine Yangs. As for what to do before that, you could get stronger. Should your own Qi become stronger than the Qi suppression, you can choose to release her and regain your chakra usage."_

Three years, or when his own Qi could overpower Wu's suppression, the sooner of the two.

Once, or _if_, he gained back chakra usage, he could retain Qi and use them both separate at a time. Neither Wong nor Wu believed it was possible to combine Qi and chakra and use them together.

There were many in history during the Great Division who had knowledge of both Qi and chakra, and there remained a few today who were fortunate enough to be exposed to both, Master Wu included. Wu's exposure came from a lineage of Qi users who was also able to mold chakra. In his youth, the yet-founder of WuDang School Zhang SanFeng had a chance encounter with a Toad Summoner.

They traded teaching each other chakra and Qi. Zhang, while holding the same distaste for chakra's demonic applications as those in the past, was open-minded enough to see value of adding tree climbing and water walking to his repertoire. In return, he'd taught the Toad Summoner how to channel Qi. What the Toad Summoner had done with that knowledge was unknown as he or anyone else with the same summoning affiliation had been spotted in the Qi-dominant part of the world again.

_"I've heard tales of toad summoners using a hybrid version of chakra and a delimited variation of Qi,"_ Naruto remembered Wu saying, _"but I've never met a toad summoner, much less seeing the fabled technique done. However, since my master taught me how to mold chakra, some parts in those tales must be truth. it doesn't hurt to ask a toad summoner if you ever meet one."_

And where was he supposed to go to meet one?

Naruto suddenly stopped jumping, landing solidly on the ground. His grayish blue Taoist robe stopped moving almost as quickly as his body had stopped. It was as if it was already in one with his body.

Qi was doing an excellent job of keeping his body renewed and energized, but his mind still could not escape the mental exhaustion from not having slept for three nights straight.

Actually, had it been any normal Qi that Naruto had learned, he wouldn't have been able to last this long, especially not being a mere novice. However, Nine Yangs was no ordinary method of channeling Qi.

Like Master Wong's, Naruto's Qi network maintained nine streams of energy. Naruto originally thought it had something to do with his nine-tailed tenant since most people's Qi, including that of the beggars and even Master Wu, consisted of only a single composite energy stream.

Master Wong explained that those nine energy streams resulted from learning the Nine Yangs. Naruto replayed the rest of Master Wong's explanation:

_"The upside of having Qi as a single stream is that it's easier to control and more concentrated in power; however, those with single energy stream can only use as much Qi as limited by their reserves. But, those who learned the Nine Yangs are different._

_"Much like a prism separating light into different colors, knowledge from the Nine Yangs manuscript separate your original Qi into nine very different energy streams, each play a different role protecting, strengthening and repairing your body and converting the Qi around you in nature into supplementing your own. And, the upside of this is unlimited Qi reserve, as long as their life force continue to sustain them."_

Self-renewing power! That was what made the Nine Yangs manuscript one of the most brilliant Kung Fu writings in history. It was the reason why so many power-hungry individuals in history had stopped at nothing to get their hands on it. This had also become the reason why Naruto as the Guardian of the Two Nines must guard it along with the Nine Sword Stances from the likes of Madara, no matter how great the cost.

_'So much responsibility,'_ Naruto sighed, suddenly feeling very exhausted as he launched himself in the air again.

Master Wong's warning immediately popped to mind:

_"Qi is synergetically linked to your life force, so while Qi exists in all things, only _living _things can channel it. This becomes dangerous once your life force is running low because it takes certain amount of energy to cease channeling it. Once you reach Qi exhaustion, your life force will already be too depleted to shut off Qi's continuous outflow, and if that doesn't happen, Qi will continue to dissipate until it completely empties your life force."_

Naruto liked his chances with a chakra exhaustion better and knew when to stop pressing his luck. Because, in chakra exhaustion, his body would shut down before reaching total chakra depletion, leaving at least _some _hope of recovery through rest or under skilled care.

Naruto made one last attempt in this tree jumping exercise, this time he stopped channeling Qi immediately before landing from his jump, hoping that would blunt the impact of his landing.

There. He did it. No shattered tree branch! There was still a hair-line crack at the split of the branch though.

Naruto wasn't supposed to cease channeling Qi as he had just done. On the contrary, he was supposed to channel Qi ahead of his landing to shield the landing site from impact so that the landing could be soundless, weightless, and trail-less - no pulverized tree branches or cracked ground.

But after three days of failed attempts, he wanted and needed to _feel_ what it felt like to land on anything besides the ground below.

It was with this manufactured sense of accomplishment that he stopped channeling Qi all together. From the tree branch 40 feet above the ground, he jumped onto the ground, crouched for his landing, and surveyed his surroundings as was his habit.

In this state, Qi was still circulating throughout his body and could be called on at any time to aid in any and all his activities, including amplifying his senses. The main notable difference was his not being already in battle mode, which wouldn't take him any time at all to activate.

Finally exhaling, Naruto breathed normally again. Well, not entirely normal. His breathing had become perfectly rhythmed and with much lengthier breathing cycles than any non-Qi user. But he was finally inhaling and exhaling again. He had been under Qi respiration and inhaling only for the past 8 weeks! And now, what used to be normal felt ... abnormal.

Currently, in the now darkening forest, his body felt ready to go, yet he found it difficult to function mentally.

Events and images randomly entered his mind, especially things leading to and after his confirmation as the new Guardian of the Two Nines. Much of it had yet to sunk in, and much of it had been confusing as hell. The very fact that he was able to learn Qi, especially after learning how incompatible Qi and chakra were, was just one example.

Naruto remembered Wong saying,_ "It might have something to do with how Kyuubi was sealed in you, namely her Yang half, which could create a very compatible environment to learn the Nine Yangs. It might also have something to do with my inputting a large amount of Qi into you to suppress her and ultimately your chakra, and perhaps having so much Qi pressure overwhelmed the natural boundary between Qi and chakra."_

Even now as Naruto pondered again over Master Wong's words, he felt insignificant as he tried to fathom how aligned the chain linking improbable events had to be for all this to happen.

Putting away such taxing thoughts, the depleted boy looked around for a place to spend the night.

_'Can't rest just yet.'_

He took out his sword and weaved it in the air, thrashing out wind blades, making it rain leaves and tree branches. He then twisted his body, mid-waist cartwheeled to the right, rapidly whipping up a sizable wind tunnel around him.

_"Naruto," _Wu's voice echoed from the past in the boy's mind, _"clear your mind of everything and picture a tender sprout under a torturous rainstorm. The wind howling, water outpours slamming on the young twig. Unlike a stiff unbending tree, the tender sprout does not snap. It uses its tenderness to overcome brute force. Its weakness becomes its strength."_

He tossed the sword into the air, and his now freed right hand joined his left in moving circularly, while synchronizing with the Tai Chi rhythm the rest of his body gave off.

_"While Qi might not have the usefulness of chakra in manipulating elements or casting jutsus, you can use Qi to manipulate gravity and inertia. Tai Chi is the perfect Kung Fu to take advantage of this ability."_

Tai Chi, the embodiment of all that made Kung Fu _Kung Fu_, was the proud invention of the Founder of WuDang and arguably the best martial art of all time. The whole Tai Chi system, encompassing both Palm and Sword Arts, was based on one single phrase from the Nine Yangs manuscript: "A tender sprout bows to the wind, while a stiff branch bends and snaps."

_"Place your hand on opposite elbows and gradually slide both hands toward each other until their palms engage. As you lift one apart, channel Qi there and shape it into a ball. The farther apart your palms are, the larger the Qi sphere. You'll feel the circular energy patterns around that Qi sphere. Allow them to guide your movements."_

The wind gathered more speed, hurling the fallen leaves and branches centrifugally, dancing orderly mid-air in sync with Naruto's movements.

Naruto's final steps led him back to where he'd started this dance ...

Hsssng!

... just in time for his sword to land back into its sheath which was securely tied onto his back.

Slowly tugging his elbows close to his torso, he lifted his palms up as he inhaled, and gently settled his palms down as he exhaled, effectively severing the Tai link between his movement and the flying debris whose momentum continued to scatter them evenly and randomly around from him, created a perfect 1000 yard radius of natural noise detectors, without any potential invaders possibly knowing the wiser.

With the "alarms" set, his hearing and Qi kinesthesia would take care of the rest when he close his eyes for the first time in three nights. Stretching out his Qi radar was something he could maintain unconsciously now. He intended to savor this sleep, but not before making the precautionary preparations, no matter how tired he was feeling.

Sleep quickly claimed him.

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **This chapter took longer than expected. I wrote its first draft 4 weeks ago, which my beta thought was okay, but I scrapped it. Four or five revisions later, I ended up with this. The training part was the culprit. It started out as dialogues between Wong, Wu, and Naruto, but it was too lecture-ish for my taste. I ended up facilitating the training through flashbacks, with their own set of shortcomings, but ultimately allowed me to pick up the action of Naruto returning to Konoha next chapter.

As it's been too long since my last update, I wanted to post this week and opted not to have my beta look it over first. I hope that there aren't too many mistakes and that it's at least of passable quality.

Please review. Your feedback is needed and appreciated.


	18. He's Back

**Naruto: Kung Fu Guardian**

**Chapter 18: He's Back  
**

…o.0.O.0.o…

**Disclaimer: **I borrowed the characters and Narutoverse from Kishimoto. Everything else is mine.

**Last Chapter:** Kakashi and company were trapped by ROOT-nins in one of their old abandoned hideout while looking for clues to track down Sasuke. Kabuto escaped from his ANBU interrogation squad. Eight and a half weeks later, Naruto parted from Masters Wu and Wong and rushed through his journey back. Among the many things Wong had taught him, one of them was the art of levitation, which Naruto was trying to master through tree-top jumping exercises. The history of Qi and chakra and the origin of the Sage of the Six Paths became evident. Master Wu had taught Naruto Tai Chi, both the palm and sword arts, which he used to set up his security alarms at night after taking his first sleep in 3 nights. Naruto was only 2 weeks away from home.

…o.0.O.0.o…

After traveling two more weeks, the blond and former loudmouth knucklehead baka returned to Konoha from his six months training trip. The last three days had been all nighters again. He was truly exhausted, but not too overly so that he would forgo catching up with certain ones first.

Something had happened right before his departure from Masters Wong and Wu that had also made him anxious to check on the welfare of his friends. That day, there was a period of prolong void and immense sorrow followed by a complete cold darkness.

Master Wong had told him that it could be a premonition of some sort.

Having heard that, Naruto had bid his goodbyes and rushed back.

Even now he still couldn't shake off that ominous dread that the sufferings the chosen Guardian had to undergo had just began. He had known that he would have gotten here too late to prevent things from happening anyway, and he doubted he could have made a difference were he given the opportunity to.

In many ways he remained the same fun-loving, warm-hearted loyal friend, loving grandson, well-adjusted adoptee, and prankster extraordinaire he had always been.

In many ways he was a different person all together.

Gone were his shinobi slacks and vest his adopted father Asuma had gotten him when his orange jumpsuits were incinerated into the oblivion. He had tried his best to stretch more usage out of what remained of his shinobi identity, that and his hitai-ite, by sewing patches to mend the outfit he had outgrown during his stay away from the village or from any place that sold shinobi gears. Instead, what he had on now was a bluish gray Taoist robe with an Yin-Yang insignia on the back, the same replica that Master Wu wore. The same one that he had used to hate, but now was finding quite comfortable under.

Gone was most of the baby fat that had used to hug his face and waist. The training had only lasted six months, but they were six harsh, cold, and physically demanding months in the elevated peak of Mt. WuDang, obscured from the mundane by the clouds in high heavens. Eating only when and what the wilderness had offered trimmed most excess fat and unnecessary muscles into a lean and slender body.

His stature became taller now, a little over 5 feet, though he seemed taller with his sword Yuutou protruding like a limb from its sheath bound to his back.

Naruto stood a good walking distance away from Konoha's grand entrance taking in the visage that was his home. He closed his eyes and stretched out his Qi. The mental picture Qi painted was indeed something else. The ambiance of the surface of the world around him, combined with the soft glow of life and the surreal tangibility of objects animate and inanimate, created a truly unique perspective on the world around him.

Eye-closing wasn't necessary anymore for him to focus on Qi kinesthetics, but he wanted to "feel" his village for now, checking on his friends and giving everything an once-over. It was quicker this way, instead of wandering aimlessly into the village with chance as his guide. Plus, he was reserving the actual savoring of the visual imagery for later when he physically set foot in village.

He breathed a sigh of relief when his Qi sensed Jiji, Asuma, Anko, and Konohamaru, and by extension his greater family, Kakashi-sensei, Yuugao-sensei, and Iruka-sensei. A fond smile blossomed when he sensed another life force in Anko and made note to ask Anko later.

He then focused on locating his friends. Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, Shino, Shikamaru, Choji, ... one by one he found them training with their teams. He blushed and his concentration faded sightly when his gave Hinata and Tenten an once-over, from head to toes and everything in between, taking in the curves that he hadn't noticed or hadn't yet developed before he left them six months ago. Did they miss him, he wondered. He made a point to visit all his peers when they got done training.

He was about to explore that thought more, but that ominous dread was tugging at him. Something wasn't right here. A frown and a pair of scrounched eyebrows later, he realized that Sakura-chan, Sasuke and Kiba and their dogs were missing.

He opened his eyes and walked toward the village as the wind blew against his sunkissed blond locks. After six months without access to a barber, he now had a longer spiky mane that patterned after the late Yondaime he had seen in picture archives. Mentally he mused how close his resemblance was to the village hero of the Third Ninja War; in fact, a close imitation, minus the Kyuubi whisker marks of course.

_'If that's true, how am I supposed to react to the years of harsh treatment from the village that HE saved? Nah, like I could be son of the 4th,' _he snickered at his own absurd thoughts. He'd just have to wait for Jiji to tell him about his parents after the Chuunin Exam.

He barely noticed the attending guards that greeted him and that he had absentmindedly allowed his feet to autopilot his body through the village entrance. He was also too preoccupied to notice their shock in seeing his new look, and it wasn't his foreign-looking Taoist robe that caused them to do a doubletake.

Naruto wanted to see Jiji first, but currently Jiji was in a room with 15 other people, presumably a meeting with the village council and clanheads. Asuma and Anko's bodies were intimate in proximity, and he feared his intrusion would be unwelcomed. Yuugao-sensei was somewhere in the ANBU headquarter, and Iruka-sensei was busy teaching a class, one with Konohamaru in it no less. That leaved Kakashi-sensei who was currently paying his respects to the Memorial Stone of Heroes.

Kakashi-sensei it was.

Naruto inverted his Taoist robe to hide the Yin-Yang symbol. Then, he flipped on his hood to conceal his hair and masked his face with a gray bandanna.

The adolescent smirked, satisfied with his appearance. He had a Genin test to make up.

…o.0.O.0.o…

A kunai laced with Qi wheezed through the air. Actually, there wasn't any "wheezing," at least not acoustically since the Qi coating silenced the sound ripples normally emitted by flying projectiles. But the kunai was moving very fast in the air toward its intended target. Undetectably even.

Kakashi barely felt it when it sliced off the knot tying his face mask, causing his outermost mask to drift away with the wind. He quickly produced a kunai in his hand and looked around cautiously. He had been careless, too engrossed in his thoughts like usual when staring at the Memorial Stone, that he had neglected to take note of his surroundings. Had he been in enemy territory, or had the perpetrator desired his death, Kakashi had no doubt that his momentary lapse would have led to his demise.

"Show yourself! Are you friend or foe?" Kakashi demanded while sweeping his glance from side to side and steadily rotating his body. Even though he knew it couldn't be a foe, especially since the kunai wasn't aimed to wound or kill him, his nerves couldn't help but throw out logic for now. After all, very few people could throw a kunai at him without his detection, no matter how distracted he'd happened to be.

The disguised Naruto stepped into view. That hue on his cloak was remotely familiar, but Kakashi couldn't place of what or whom it reminded him.

Before Kakashi was done formulating a first impression, another kunai sailed toward him, this time sans Qi as the former ANBU captain reflexively snatched it from trajectory, noticing the note attached to it.

It wasn't an explosive note, he observed. Again, if this was a foe, it could have been. After sending the kunai sailing back to its sender, Kakashi opened the note and read its content:

_The objective is to remove my mask before I remove yours._

"Gai?" Kakashi inquired, quirking his lone visible eyebrow, only to have the opponent shaking his head. "Didn't think so. You're not tall enough and certainly not loud or annoying enough. Plus you have a better fashion sense."

The concealed Naruto sneakered at that remark, and when he came to, the masked Jounin was gone.

Three kunais sailed toward him from behind. Naruto jumped up to grab one, using it to deflect the rest. A shower of shurikens followed. The tale-tell presence of chakra screamed kage bunshin shurikens.

The disguised Genin drew out his sword and shot forth streams of Qi as Yuutou danced through one of the Nine Lonesome Stances: The Projectile Conquering Stance. Under normal circumstances, Naruto would have to wait until the shurikens reach within the range of his sword stabs, but his newly mastered ability to shoot off spurts of Qi allowed him to use this sword stance sooner and at a greater distance away.

The Qi streams that flew out of Yuutou's tips pierced into each of those hundreds of shuriken, halting them in midair. To Kakashi, it appeared that those shurinkens were impaled to remain where they happened to be, as if the air around the masked challenger was a big cork board and his sword was somehow shooting invisible pins that held his shuriken shadow clones onto it.

Kakashi immediately lifted his hitai-ite and opened his Sharingan to get a better look. The soft energy glow piercing each of his motionless shuriken clones confirmed his hypothesis. This energy was not chakra, at least Kakashi didn't believe it to be.

The boy then settled into his Tai Chi sword dance. Tai Chi was a style that Kakashi recognized. He had seen Gai doing Tai Chi on some mornings as warm up; however, the masked Jounin had considered that form of slow-motion martial arts as more of an exercise yoga than an actual combat-worthy taijutsu. This would be the first time he had seen Tai Chi implemented with a sword.

But, then again, this would also be the first time he saw a soft glow of energy, which was only visible because of his uncovered Sharingan, being part of Tai Chi. He certainly didn't remember Gai having done or being capable of this when he'd watched.

Kakashi then saw his masked attacker command the shurikens in circular motion, choreographing them through the labyrinth of soft glow of energy waves, and sending them soaring toward Kakashi's hidden location.

With a miniscule flicker of chakra, Kakashi dismissed the bunshin shurikens, resulting in hundreds of smoky poofs. And, so was Kakashi.

The hooded boy halted his dance when he could no longer sense Kakashi. Naruto remained calm, not even the slightest hint of surprise or panic. He stretched out his Qi-dar a bit more, scrutinizing the subtleties of everything around him. Still, nothing out of the ordinary, yet.

It was too late when Naruto felt a pair of hands erupting from the ground, grabbing on to his ankles. He cursed himself for not having paid attention to what was below him as he was pulled under, leaving only his head above ground and his sword impaled on the ground next to him.

From a nearby tree, Kakashi jumped and landed in front of his masked attacker, going for that mask and the win. His hitai-ite now covered his transplant to conserve chakra. Very few people had ever escaped this Doton jutsu, at least not when he was the one who had cast it, and he doubt the masked youngster had the skills to do so.

But victory was not Hatake's to take, not if Naruto had any say on the matter. And, despite being immobilized, Naruto still had plenty to say.

Just when Kakashi was reaching his hand for the mask, a pulse of energy erupted and blasted away dirt and rocks that had entombed the masked youngster a yard in radius around.

The youngster grabbed Kakashi's approaching arm with his left hand and pulled himself out of the now enlarged hole while reaching for Kakashi's mask with his right, which he easily removed. Too easy.

Suddenly the 'Kakashi' before him poofed into a replacement log. Kawarimi no jutsu, an elementary but effective must-know of every ninja.

Just then, Naruto felt the approaching searing heat of a Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu behind him. The masked boy gently pulsed Qi to his right palm, calling forth his sword. The energy yanked Yuutou out of the soil and pulled it into Naruto's hand. He let the rest of his generated Qi infuse his sword as he twisted 180 degrees and sliced downward, toward the fireball. The resulting invisible Qi blade parted the enormous ball of inferno into polar directions so that he stood there unharmed.

What had started as a funny way to surprise and greet his sensei after being away for six months had somehow turned into something more serious, Naruto concluded.

When his fiery breath ran out, Kakashi stood 10 feet in front of his mystery challenger. After what seemed like a few minutes of staring, Kakashi feigned an attempt for his opponent's mask and, instead, rotated for a swipe-kick on the head, sending the smaller figure tumbling sideways, nearly having knocked off the bluish-gray hood that was hiding his blond locks.

Naruto had sensed that kick coming but was too slow reacting. He rolled with the tumble, lamenting his loss of chakra usage, knowing full well that a Kawarimi here or a Kage Bunshin there would have done wonders in this fight against the legendary Copy-nin. Then, he reminded himself that he was the chosen and confirmed Guardian of the Two Nines. He had a name and an honor to keep, and the resurfacing self-doubt was hampering him.

True, in some ways, he still wished he had access to his chakra. Wishing for chakra, in itself, wasn't wrong, or else either Master Wong or Wu certainly would have chastised him for it in their presence. But, doing so while engaging in combat, even though this was supposed to be a friendly spar, was distracting, to say the least.

Making a firm resolve and renewing his confidence in Qi, the masked Naruto stood up using speed Kakashi hadn't seen from him and launched himself over the Jounin's silver spikes before landing 20 feet away behind the masked Jounin.

Kakashi quickly turned around, shocked to find that he was now staring at the mysterious person with BOTH of his eyes and noticed that his hitai-ite was now in the challenger's hands. _'How?'_ or _'Why didn't he just remove his mask while at it?'_ Kakashi would liked to have asked but was too shocked to.

"I want to make it fair since I'll be taking this seriously now, Hatake-san," the young boy answered one of his unasked questions. Fighting with honor was one of the codes of WuXia that Master Wong had drilled into him, and it just didn't seem right to simply take off that mask when Kakashi had that headband handicapping his Sharingan.

_'He sounds so young. 14? 15? Why is his voice so familiar?' _Kakashi was having a hard time figuring out this boy's identity even though he believed he should have all the necessary clues. _'Have I missed any details?' _His eyes subconsciously dotted over to the masked youngster's own only to abandon them in search for other details.

Kakashi hadn't really been himself since Sakura's death, and especially since the Sasuke incident. Most nights he spent basking in the mirth of brothels and drowning in the intoxicating nectar of fermented rice. During the day, he spent his wasted waking hours staring at the accursed Memorial Stone. Time went by unaccounted for the past few weeks.

'Full level,' the former ANBU captain certainly was not, but he was certainly at least an average Jounin level.

"All right. You'll have it," Kakashi retorted briskly while his hands sped through some hand seals, only to find them involuntarily slowing down after the masked youngster interrupted him with a concentrated blanket of that mysterious energy.

"Jutsus are a waste of time, Hatake-san. I'll use my sword against whatever you dish out to me anyway," Naruto bluffed behind his mask as he sheathed his sword. Naruto was willing to fight honorably, but that didn't mean he was above making his opponent overestimate his abilities, not when it would result in his advantage. Besides, it wasn't a lie. He _would _use his sword to counter Kakashi's jutsus. Whether or not he would _succeed _was another matter.

He certainly was sure he could split or deflect _some_ jutsus, but he was not stupid enough to believe that he could do that to _all _jutsus, especially in his current condition. Splitting that Katon had already taken a lot out of him. Taijutsu was about all he could handle right now from Kakashi.

"Just so you know," Kakashi retorted, "I've never lost in taijutsu when using both eyes. Furthermore my reach is longer than yours. You stand no chance against me."

The masked youngster then dropped into a Tai Chi open stance and taunted Kakashi to attack, "Just attack already, or is the legendary Sharingan Kakashi scared?"

"You almost got me to believe you were above ninjutsu until that taunt. It seems like you are at your limit," Kakashi stoically stated. His Sharingan didn't lie.

"Nothing a few minutes of breathing exercise couldn't restore," the masked youngster rebuffed.

"Hm, even if that's true," Kakashi doubted that, "you are assuming that I'll be foolish enough to let you have a breather. Still, I'll indulge your request for a taijutsu spar. That Tai Chi stance of yours... Gai, a taijutsu specialist favors, Goken over Tai Chi because Goken is more fluid and has less wasted movements. And, I've beaten both of his Goken and Tai Chi."

"Gai wasn't taught by a person who inherited Tai Chi from its inventor. And, there's no need for you to gloat. I'm aware of what's written in your file"-which was only a brief description from the Sandaime about his sensei, but the way he sounded made it seemed more-"This won't take long, I promise."

This had the desired effect of pissing Kakashi off. He charged with a speed that rivaled his former ANBU self.

A forward jab with all his power landed squarely on the masked youngster's face. His infallable Sharingan confirmed as much.

But somehow, it didn't feel like a hit, at least not a hit against anything solid. For one, he didn't feel its sting on his fist. And second, the masked challenger was still standing there. In fact, his fist was still connected to the other's face, only pushed back by the long reach of Kakashi's punching arm.

For the record, the hit _did _land. But Kakashi was correct: It wasn't against anything solid. Instead, it felt like he had landed a hit against a piece of cloth, much like punching a hung curtain.

The Sharingan next caught the masked challenger kicking left leg upward, which his chin barely dodged. The glancing blow told Kakashi that the boy must have converted all of the punch received to his face into that kick, and perhaps even amplified some more by the boy's own strength.

Kakashi swiftly grabbed the offending leg, but the masked boy easily escaped with a simple twisting and circling of the leg around the hold. The Jounin's Sharingan revealed that a coating of that mysterious energy around the captured leg made possible for the slip-away from the veteran shinobi's grip.

The Jounin attempted several more Goken-like punches, this time packed with even more chakra. The masked teenager's left arm parried the first one and circled around Kakashi's arm to diffuse its power.

The masked boy countered the next raining punches the same way and left a trace of Qi around Kakashi's punching and kicking limbs every time he circled around them. And with each succession, Kakashi felt his movements slowing; his arms and legs, heavier.

_'He left a trace of that mysterious energy behind his Tai Chi circling. Does Gai know this, too? Probably not, since he considered these Tai Chi moves unnecessary and inferior to the Goken.'_

Finally, after Kakashi's movements had slowed down quite considerably, the masked boy attacked. Using two fingers, his index and middle stiffen adjacently, ....

_'Wait, where have I seen this move before?'_ Kakashi searched his memory while staring right into the masked boy's cerulean blue eyes, noticing the blond locks not completely hiddened by the hood. _'And those eyes.... Wait! Blond hair!?'_

... the boy aimed them at what Kakashi recognized from his former ANBU training as pressure points for disabling someone. His Sharingan predicted where the boy was aiming for and shifted his body ever slightly a nanosecond before each contact.

At the end of the disabling sequence, Kakashi's eyes widened in shock before fallen unconscious.

The masked Naruto let out a sigh of relief that the intense fight was finally over. He was at his limit. Activating Qi breathing, he could feel his power easily restored to 70 percent. Qi, although potent and invigorating, could not replenish what he had lost from the lack of sleep. He would need at least a day of rest _and sleep_ to be 100 percent again, definitely more than "a few minutes of breathing exercises" that he had boasted to Kakashi.

Bending down to look at Kakashi's masked face, he reached down to remove that damnable mask and claim his victory.

Just then, he felt Kakashi's arm grabbed hold of his.

"What the..."

And before Naruto registered what had happened, he saw Kakashi spinning them both, pinning his body down while removing his bandanna.

"I won, Naruto."

Kakashi smiled at Naruto, but couldn't understand why the boy was looking at him dumbfoundedly until his hand found its way to his unmasked face.

At that inopportune time, Kakashi heard one voice he had hoped never to, especially now.

"Yosh! What's my Eternal Rival doing saddling his student like that?!"

Kakashi and Naruto turned their heads toward that voice and found an appalled Gai pointing his finger at them. Those two quickly pushed off each other with Naruto handing back Kakashi's mask and hitai-ite.

"Oh, hi, Gai. Did you say something?" Kakashi asked after he secured his signature face enhancement.

"Yosh! It's just like you to say something hip like that to get out of a sticky situation." the green-clad Jounin boisterously declared. "I'll learn how to be secure with my masculinity and take showing my students affection to a whole new level!"

"That's right, Gai-sensei!" the mini-Gai shouted while pumping his fists. "I want you to show me that kind of affection! I will not lose to Naruto."

"That's right, Lee!" Gai said as he gave his protege a thumbs up and a blinding smile. "We will win because the power of youth shines brightly in us!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-sensei!"

"Lee!"

The remaining two from Team 10 and Kakashi instinctively looked away as the spandex duo activated their deadly genjutsu with a hug. Neji actually took a few steps away from them and ready himself to perform a Kaiton should they get any closer to him.

Not needing to be anymore messed up than he already had been, Kakashi shinshunned away from there in a jiffy. He NEEDED to think about women, to look at someone that would remind him why he was happy to be a male. Since he had become too broke from frequenting brothels and bars, he decided to visit Kurenai who was still on the training grounds with her team. Perhaps he could observe her, talk to her, or do something to get her to call him a pervert. He would take anything at this point. Maybe if he was brave enough, he'd ask her out for lunch. Kami knew how much he needed to talk to someone about Sakura's death and Sasuke's betrayal, and no doubt Kurenai needed the same regarding Kiba.

Naruto, on the other hand, was not aware of the dangers until he was caught in their sunset genjutsu.

"Naruto?" asked their female teammate as she stood in front of the boy and gently shook him out of his stupor. All the while, Tenten was telling herself not to blush from looking over how Naruto had matured from his six-month absentee. Despite her internal protest, or because of it, she felt her cheeks rose in temperature.

A recovered Naruto smiled and said, "Hi, Tenten-chan. Thanks." He then scrawled his brows. "What was that, a genjutsu?"

"Not sure," she replied as she directed Naruto toward another direction lest he get caught staring at the disturbing image again. "So, you just got back?"

"Yeah. I want to catch up with you and all, but I have a few questions that I had hoped Kakashi would answer for me," Naruto hated that he had to rush, "but since he's not here, and now that Jiji, I mean, Hokage-sama is free, I should probably go meet him first."- after that brief Qi breathing, Naruto had spread out his kinesthetics again, which had noticed that those flickers of life force had departed from the Sandaime.

"Yeah," the brunette sighed dejectedly, "maybe later."

"Hey, how about meeting me at Ichiruka's in an hour?" the blond suggested. "It's been a while since I had ramen, and we can catch up as well."

"Yeah, that sounds nice," the girl said with an upbeat voice.

"Yeah, it's a date then," Naruto blurted out without thinking. He then launched himself toward the Hokage tower employing the art of levitation, and in one leap he landed on the window of his destination before either of them really registered what he had said. Well, in Naruto's case, it never registered.

…o.0.O.0.o…

"... so that was pretty much my training," Naruto said.

Instead of playing the role of Hokage, Hiruzen the Jiji smiled fondly at his grandson and said, "I'm proud of you, Naruto, and am glad to have you home, Naruto. Make sure to check in with you dad, too. He and Konohamaru have been looking forward to your return."

Naruto's right hand reached for the back of his head sheepishly. "Of course." - _'After Anko's done with him.'_

"If you don't have anything else, you're dismissed to catch up with your friends until tomorrow morning at 8," Hiruzen ordered as a puff of smoke escaped his mouth.

"Actually, Old Man, can you tell me what happened to Sasuke, Kiba, and Sakura? I can't sense them at all. Are they away on a mission?" Naruto hoped that was the case, albeit very unlikely that Kiba had been assigned to a mission with his teammates, and especially since Kakashi was in town.

On hearing their names, Hiruzen's features aged considerably. Drawing out a lengthy smoke, he said, "I was hoping not have to discuss matters of this nature until tomorrow. I wanted you to have at least one good night's rest, but since you've asked, ...."

Hiruzen asked Naruto not to interrupt and then told the boy about Sakura's death on the mission to the Waves, the village's naming the bridge in the girl's honor, Kiba's mysterious death, and Sasuke's departure. As soon as he was done, ....

"So, Kakashi's team never found out what happened to Kiba or if Sasuke was involved?" asked an emotional, but controlled Naruto.

"Yes. Here's the mission report. Normally I don't share this, but there's nothing in there you weren't already aware of, plus it might give you some insight on Danzou and ROOT," Hiruzen said as he tossed a scroll at Naruto.

- Report Narrative -

(10 and a half weeks earlier. Konoha. With Kakashi and company trapped in ROOT's old abandoned hideout)

The four ANBU masks stared at each other. The knew that technically they were no longer in ANBU anymore, all save one, Ibiki; but the masks were something they had kept from their former days of glory.

Kakashi knew his team had the tactical disadvantage. There were four of them facing an unknown number of opponents. It was possible that their enemies had received intel on them, despite having had a privacy seal activated during the mission discussion with the Hokage. Along with their identities went their publically known abilities and attack patterns, which meant that they had lost most of the predominate deciding factor in ninja battles: the surprise element. On the other hand, very little was known of ROOT, and even much less on its members.

One word came to mind: Shit!

Currently the four Konoha loyalists were assuming one-kneed squads, which had transitioned from staying low sneaking around this abandoned ROOT hideout.

The one with an ANBU boar mask tapped his other three teammates on the shoulders and signed, _'Any ideas?'_

Anko smirked at Inoichi - though her face was hidden under her vipor ANBU mask - and signed, _'Let's show them why leaves are way above the roots.' _She meant that literally and metamorphically.

The one squatting next to her, Ibiki, signed in agreement, _'I think we should be able to capture at least one of them for interrogation.'_ In the back of his mind, he was lamenting that he couldn't do that at this moment to Kabuto, whom he had last left in the interrogation cell.

Kakashi, the dog-masked nin, really would have preferred a tactical retreat, but he was iching to vent out some frustration at the whole situation, with his student Sasuke being missing and possibly being the one responsible for Kiba's kidnapping, which was the only thing he would accept at this moment regarding his charge until given prove otherwise, even though he understood the chance of Kiba being dead was very real.

At Kakashi's signal, Anko and Ibiki activated several smoke bombs around them. Their enemies definitely knew about their presence, and they hoped the smoke screen would level the playing field somewhat.

"That won't work against us," snickered a female ROOT-nin.

Ignoring her comment, Kakashi mechanically drew some blood with a kunai, and his hands quickly blurred through half-a-dozen hand seals before slamming his palm down to summon four nin-dogs. His team could use their superior senses of detection to balance out some of the disadvantages.

"Hm, we'll show you now why Danzou-sama chose us for this," the same female voice mocked their pathetic attempts.

"Yeah, let's humble these arrogant Hokage loyalists who dare to stand in defiance to Danzou-sama," her male partner chimed in, followed by a distinct chakra flare.

Immediately everyone felt a coldness hovering over them. Moisture gathered around the overhead chill and condensed into rain drops.

"Who do you think we are? Like a little rain will do anything agaist us," Anko taunted, finally tired of her team not getting in a verbal jab.

"Not just any rain," the female ROOT-nin snickered. "Acid rain."

It was then that team Kakashi noticed how the water droplets were slowly eating away the hooded cloaks they had on as part of their identity consealment.

"Besides, it's what accompanies the rain that you should be worried about," the male ROOT accomplice added.

"Shit, dispurse!" Kakashi ordered. Each took a nin-dog and scattered in four directions.

"Thunder attack, now!" the female ordered her male teammate when she sensed his uncharacteristic hesitation.

He quickly finished the hand seals and stretched out his right hand toward the condensation of water vapor above.

A loud rumble and flashes of light roamed throughout the artificial rain cloud hugging the high ceiling of the hideout. Lightning sparks slowly leaked in random pattern all over the cave before making a concentrated push that blew open the top of the hideout, letting sun grace the damnable excavation for the first time.

"Was this supposed to happen, Rona?" asked another ROOT-nin as he and the others dodged the hailing rock debris. He'd been on missions with them two before and had always seen their enemies being the sole target of the thunder or its aftereffects. Never had he had the need to dodge like he did now.

"No, Ikazu was supposed to direct the lightning at the ground frying the leaf-nin," Rona replied.

The unnamed ROOT-nin nodded as he mentally thanked kami that he'd remembered to put on his rubber coat and boots for this mission.

"At least we got two names out of this exchange," Ibiki whispered to himself as he finished his hand seals for a Doton jutsu. Before unleashing his widearea attack, he asked the nin-dog summon Kakashi assigned to him, "Is everyone safe?"

Taking a sniff, it replied, "Inoichi is still sitting where we scattered off. His breathing is very shallow. He probably hasn't moved since we got here."

Ibiki enhanced his vision with some chakra - not a doujutsu - and barely made out the faint outline of his comrade through the smoke screen that was starting to thin out. "What da hell?"

It was then that he saw that ROOT-nin named Ikazu jumped down to grab Inoichi before speeding away with him.

"Kuzo!"

Ibiki and his companion nin-dog abandoned their hidden location and sped toward his slumped comrade, through the freshly-made gaping hole above. Kakashi, Anko, and the other two nin-dogs quickly followed.

"Er, Rona, what is Ikazu doing?"

"Dammit! After them!" Rona and two unnamed ROOT-nins also entered the chase.

When she caught up with her targets, Rona turned to find the other two ROOT nins who had been flanking her, missing. This meant she stood severely outnumbered, and she was already too close to her enemies to divide her attention worrying what she had no control over at the moment.

"It has been an honor to have seen the master mindwalker in action." Rona nodded at Inoichi. "You may foolishly think that your superior number gives you an advantage, but you'd be wrong. We ROOT-nins are loyal to the T and willing to forsake our lives to finish the mission" The sole functioning ROOT-nin pointed her finger at Ikazu's fallen body. "The minute I'm within 20 feet of my brother's body is the when this is over for all of us."

"Now, now," a new voice interrupted, using the same voice confusion jutsu to mask where the voice originate, "you talk too much for your own good. But thanks to that, I'm able to make it in time."

That voice sounded familiar to Ibiki, but he couldn't quite place where he'd heard it, so he quickly looked . He wasn't given much time to ponder as a dialogue unfolded before them.

"Kakashi, she's no longer a threat to you anymore," the surrounding voice continued. "The solution I've injected her desolved the spinal cord that links the brain to the rest of body. She's alive, technically, but she'll remain vegetated for the rest of her life."

"Who are you?" Ibiki asked.

"I'm Kabuto, your former captive," the voice replied.

After a long pause, Ibiki stated, "If you tell me who you're working for and what he wants, I'll guarantee your freedom and safety as long as you remain in Konoha."

"Fu fu, you're a funny man Ibiki," Kabuto's voice laughed, "Since I've easily escaped, I have no reason to believe in your guarantee. But I do have a favor to ask in return for my services." - pointing to the ROOT siblings - "I want Naruto-kun to participate in the Chuunin Exam." Those were the last words they heard from the voice.

- End Report Narrative -

"So, he specifically asked for me? Why?" Naruto pondered out loud.

"I'm not sure." Hiruzen replied worrily. "Actually, I'm not sure if it's a good idea for you to participate in this year's Chuunin Exam. Kabuto is obviously a spy and must have escape the village after that incident. His being a medic-nin that rivals Tsunade's genius and havng evident seasoned combat skills and easily Jounin level make him very dangerous. Whatever the reason he wanted you to participate can't be good. But I'll leave the decision to you."

With no hesitancy, the thirteen-year-old boldly declared, "I'm not going to miss all the fun, so I'm in."

"Good, it starts next week. You'll meet me here tomorrow morning with Team 8. You'll enlist on that team to satisfy the three-Genin requirement."

"Wait, what happened to my team? Team 7?" Naruto absentmindedly asked.

"You mean Sakura and Sasuke?" - Hiruzen gave it a pause until a look of understanding appeared on Naruto's face - "Placing you where Kiba used to be, with Shino and Hinata, makes the most sense. I'm sure you'll adjust to Kurenai as a sensei rather easily."

Naruto pondered over it and asked, "What exactly happened to Sasuke?"

"I'm not sure. All I know is that Danzou told me he left the village."

"Don't tell me you actually believe that he didn't have a part in it!"

"Naruto," Hiruzen sighed, "I have my reasons."

- Flashback -

It was early evening. Danzou barged into Sarutobi's office before he left to meet Tsume to give her update on what Inoichi found out during his mind invasion on those two captured ROOT-nins.

"Sasuke killed Kiba and has now deserted Konoha," the warhawk revealed.

"How can I trust that you didn't have anything to do with Kiba's death or that you didn't send your 'weapon' to get training outside the village?" Sarutobi fumed.

"I wouldn't risk coming to you about this if that was true." Danzou then detailed how the rogue Uchiha attacked him the day before he killed Kiba.

Of course, Sarutobi didnt believe any of it. "Danzou, give me one reason why I shouldn't have you arrested for treason and insubordination, disobeying me and the Advisers' decision to disband your ROOT!"

"Naruto."

"My grandson?"

"I know what happened at the waterfall six months ago and how he nearly unleashed Kyuubi on the village few days later."

"That wasn't Kyuubi."

"Does it matter?"

- End Flashback -

"If you say so, Jiji." Naruto sensed that there was more to this but dropped the matter as he didn't see it going anywhere.

"Cheer up," Hiruzen chirped. "Don't you have places to be, people to see, things to do? Like ramen, or visiting your friends?"

"Oh yeah, I gotta meet Tenten at Ichiraku's." It was a wonder how Naruto's mood quickly improved. "Later, Jiji."

…o.0.O.0.o…

**A/N: **It took longer than expected, but it's done. My beta is busy with real life, so I'm afraid that this is unbeta'ed again.

The Naruto x Hinata pairing will happen since he'll be in Team 8, but I can't ignore the obvious signs for Naruto x Tenten. It won't be a harem, at least it's now how I plan it. It'll start as romantic triangle, and later, who knows?

**RANT on Chapter 469:** Is it me, or is Sakura more hate-able? Even without Naruto calling out her bull, I knew she was full of it right away. Damn that Kishimoto for making Sakura more despicable than she already was, lying and manipulating Naruto's feelings just to get what she wanted, even if it was for the noble cause of getting Naruto to finally abandon Sasuke. Wouldn't it be better if she just told him straight out, instead of layering it under a cake of dung? It was so obvious that even the clueless Naruto picked it up.

Review please!


	19. Author's Note

Hi. Sorry to disappoint if you are expecting this to be a new chapter. I've been busy getting my new story, **From Her Ashes**, off the ground.

You know how I've been ranting about what happens in the Manga after Hinata's confession. Well, I've gotten tired of ranting and went ahead and write a story to make things go the way I believe they should.

Here's its summary:

After Naruto defeats Pein, the village welcomes him back as the Rokudaime Hokage. Naruto walks in the steps of his father as he raises Konoha from her ashes and fulfills his destiny as the Prophecy Child. I'm righting everything wrong. Naruto X Hinata.

It's 3 chapters strong already. So check it out if you haven't already. You can find it in my profile.

As for this story, I'm debating whether I should continue to add the next section of this story in the next chapter, or should I end this here and write the next update as a new story, a sequel.

So, continue in the same story? or continue in a sequel?

Your input is much appreciated!


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